The defending champions Denver Nuggets are down 2-0 in their semifinal matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves as they lost both of their games at home and will now head out on the road trying to get themselves back in this series in this Friday night playoff matchup. We take a look at this matchup to make a Nuggets-Timberwolves prediction and pick.

Denver Nuggets (61-28) the defending champions are in a tough spot going down 2-0 to start the series with both of those losing coming on their homecourt where they were 36-10 during the season. They have now given home-court advantage to the Minnesota Timberwolves and will have to battle themselves out of this big hole they dug themselves into against the No. 2 seed in this year's NBA playoffs.

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They have been downright dreadful in each game this series, especially in their most recent loss to the Timberwolves where they lost by 26 points. The Nuggets were collectively terrible as their leading scorer was Aaron Gordon just had 20 points on the night. The Timberwolves have held both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in check so far this series and for the Nuggets to attempt to get back in this series these two must get themselves back to form.

The Denver Nuggets will be heading into hostile territory and get to make this a series when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in this must-win matchup at the Target Center.

Minnesota Timberwolves (62-26) have a commanding 2-0 lead against the defending champions Denver Nuggets surprising the heck out of the world. This Timberwolves team is spear-headed by Anthony Edwards who's playing out of his mind not only this entire season but also in the playoffs. Even with a missing piece in the paint Rudy Gobert in game 2, the Timberwolves still managed to dominate the Nuggets on both ends of the court.

The Timberwolves have one of the best defenses in the entire NBA and it has shown over their two wins against the Nuggets. They held Jokic and Murray to 22 combined points in Game 2 and that was without their anchor in the frontcourt. Edwards along with Karl Anthony-Towns nothing short of unstoppable in this series thus far and they will need to keep things rolling if they want to put the nail in the coffin in Game 3.

The Timberwolves will be looking to go up 3-0 against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in their semifinal matchup when they play host on Friday night at the Target Center.

DENVER NUGGETS VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES FANDUEL ODDS FOR ARR. 26

MONEY LINE

• DENVER NUGGETS: +136
• MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: -162

SPREAD

• DENVER NUGGETS: +3.5 (-110)
• MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: -3.5 (-110)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER 205.5 (-110)
• UNDER 205.5 (-110)

BEST ODDS FOR DENVER NUGGETS VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

• The Phoenix Suns are -5-point favorites against the Minnesota Timberwolves. BetMGM currently has the best odds at -4.5 (-115)

• The Minnesota Timberwolves are the underdogs by 5 points to cover the spread. Hard Rock Bet currently has the best odds at +5 (-105)
• BetRivers currently has the best odds for the total, which is set at 208 (-110) for the over, and (-110) for the under

DENVER NUGGETS VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES INJURY REPORT

DENVER NUGGETS INJURY REPORT

• KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE - QUES FRI - ABDOMINAL
• JAMAL MURRAY - QUES FRI - CALF
• REGGIE JACKSON - QUES FRI - ANKLE
• VLATKO CANCAR - OUT FOR SEASON - KNEE

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES INJURY REPORT

• JAYLEN CLARK - OUT - ACHILLES

WHY DENVER NUGGETS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Denver Nuggets are playing like we've never seen them play before and that is not a good thing. They seem completely out of sync and have not been in rhythm on offense against this stifling Minnesota Timberwolves defense. This now put the Nuggets down 0-2 in the playoffs for the first time since their 2008 playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The two main pieces on this Nuggets offense Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have been having a tough time getting anything going as they combined for just 22 points in Game 2. Murray has been hobbled by injury throughout the playoffs and it has shown, especially in this series against the Timberwolves. His nonexistence on the court has eaten into Jokic's game plan because the Timberwolves have been able to double-team him every chance they've got.

While things have been rough for the Nuggets, they still have the talent to turn things around even on the road in the Target Center. The newly crowned MVP Jokic will need to get back to form by putting this Nuggets squad on his back. If he can get back to his scoring prowess that will open up the perimeter shooting from players like Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr. Then if Murray can just step it up we can see a rejuvenated Nuggets squad. The Nuggets just need to perform better if they can just ramp it up they can turn this series around starting with tonight's must-win game.

WHY MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Minnesota Timberwolves look poised to make a deep run at the title after downing the defending champions in back-to-back games with relative ease. Coming out and taking it to the Denver Nuggets like they have in the first two games of the series the way they did was very unexpected.

In that first game, it was all Anthony Edwards who scored a team-high 43 points and the likes of,

• Mike Conley (14 points, 10 assists)
• Karl-Anthony Towns (20 points)
• Naz Reid (16points)

assisted in their dominant game-one victory.

In their second game of the series, Edwards went neck-and-neck with Towns tying for the team-high in points but Towns chipped in with his 12 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. They both finished with 27 points and just two other players on the team scored in double digits, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (14 points) and Naz Reid (14 points) but they still were able to win by a staggering 26 points in Game 2.

However, this game will be different entirely and that's mainly because the Denver Nuggets' backs are against the wall even though the Timberwolves will be at home this should be a closely contested matchup throughout but one that the Timberwolves can still get it done.

The Timberwolves boast the best defense in the NBA and they are top in most statistical categories:

StatisticFG%FGMFGA3P%3PM3PAPercentage44.9% (1)38.9% (1)86.5 (6)35.4% (7)11.4 (3)32.1 (4)

The Timberwolves offense may not be as efficient as their defense is but they are still third in the league in 3-point percentage. This comes down to the Timberwolves keeping that defensive tenacity up as it has been all series long and if they can do that they can essentially put the nail in the coffin in the defending champions.

FINAL NUGGETS-TIMBERWOLVES PICK & PREDICTION

The defending champions Denver Nuggets certainly aren't an easy out for any team in the playoffs even for the No. 2-seeded Timberwolves who are up 2-0, especially with the likes of,

• Nikola Jokic
• Jamal Murray
• Aaron Gordon
• Michael Porter Jr.
• Kantavious Caldwell-Pope

However, they got paired up with their kryptonite which happens to be the Minnesota Timberwolves who are a team that can run and play in space and lock down on defense.

We can expect the Nuggets to pick it up in a must-win game on the road but the injuries to their stars have really taken its toll on the defending champions.

It will be close until the Timberwolves hanker down the stretch. The Timberwolves are a team to watch out for in this NBA playoffs that could potentially win it all and they will be good in this Friday night playoff matchup as they go up 3 games to 0 and cover the spread.

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FINAL NUGGETS-TIMBERWOLVES PICK & PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES -3.5 (-110)

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