Nuggets most to blame for embarrassing Game 2 loss to Timberwolves

During the Nuggets’ run to the championship in 2023, Nikola Jokic looked like the league’s most unsolvable puzzle. Jokic seemingly had the answer for every coverage; make him a scorer, and he will carve you up with his excellent touch from all three levels of the court.

When teams send double teams, he always finds the open man. In the short roll, he thrives as a connective piece, either by throwing a gorgeous lob to Aaron Gordon, kicking it out to an open shooter, or moving to a quick handoff to free up the likes of Michael Porter Jr. or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Nikola Jokic’s offensive intelligence has been the driving factor of the Nuggets’ excellence on that end of the floor. But the Timberwolves seemingly built a roster designed to combat Jokic’s strengths, and as a result, the reigning Finals MVP hasn’t been at his best so far in the series.

Game 1 was a rollercoaster for Jokic; the easy passes he tends to make on a regular basis became an adventure, as the Timberwolves’ collective length posed a major problem for him. His patented lob towards Gordon was even stymied by the Wolves’ defense. Rudy Gobert was excellent in protecting the backline as Karl-Anthony Towns battled with Jokic for positioning.

Jokic may have finished Game 1 with 32 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, and he was aggressive in hunting for his shot (he took 25 attempts from the field). But he also coughed up the ball seven times. In Game 2, Jokic suffered through more of the same.

The Timberwolves were physical with Jokic from the get-go; they mixed up their coverages as well. At times, they sent late help, sending an extra body just when Jokic was going to shoot from the interior. Sometimes, they bothered his passing line of sight from the perimeter, sending an extra man and forcing him to give up the ball early.

Usually, the Nuggets thrive off basket cuts as it frees up someone due to the attention Jokic draws. But in Game 2, the Timberwolves were pinpoint with their rotations, forcing Jokic to turn the ball over four times — thrice in the first half — as the Nuggets struggled to build an offensive rhythm.

It has become a mental battle for Jokic and the Nuggets; the Timberwolves’ intimidation factor was in full display, and even Jokic missed shots he would make in his sleep. He finished the 106-80 beatdown with just 16 points on 5-13 shooting from the field, although he did add 16 rebounds and eight assists in what was an overall lackluster effort from the Nuggets.

At this point, given how much ground the Timberwolves cover on the perimeter, Jokic will have to figure out how to become a more aggressive and effective scorer. That is easier said than done when he’s banging against the likes of Gobert and Towns, but Jokic certainly has it in him to be a much better offensive force moving forward if they were to avoid going down 0-3 — basically a death sentence to their championship hopes.

Jamal Murray loses it

The Timberwolves’ gameplan on Jamal Murray was simple; put pressure on him from the backcourt, hound him on screens, always go over picks, and funnel him towards the help defenders. They had the Nuggets star in a straitjacket, as the TNT commentary crew said, and no possession embodied that more than when Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker converged on him and forced him to give up the ball from near the logo.

Murray has been ice cold to begin the series, and Game 2 proved to be more of the same. He couldn’t get much separation off the dribble, and even when he did, he was met by the Timberwolves’ length. He ended up scoring just eight points on a dreadful 3-18 shooting from the field, and that might be the worst he has played under the bright lights of the playoffs throughout his career.

It might have been accidental, but Jamal Murray was even caught red-handed throwing a heat pack onto the floor on one possession. Murray was also complaining all night long about the Timberwolves’ physicality; Minnesota may have gotten away with more contact than he would have liked, but he let it get to his head as he put up an out and out stinker in Game 2.

Murray has earned a reputation for being one of the best playoff risers in league history. Thus, even with the Nuggets facing the prospect of going down 3-0 against the Timberwolves, and heading on the road no less, Murray has the ability to step up when his team needs him the most.

But Jamal Murray absolutely cannot lose the mental warfare the Timberwolves’ defense is waging on him. Murray’s confidence looked shot in Game 2, as if he was coming to the realization that he, no matter what he does, cannot solve the Timberwolves’ stifling coverage. But Murray is as stone-cold of a playoff assassin as it gets, and the Nuggets will need him more than ever to be at his best when the series shifts to Minneapolis on Friday.