They come to bury Joker, not to praise him. The last time a line this long queued up to place wreaths on a defending champion, Winston Churchill lay in state.
“They're up-and-coming, they've got a bunch of great players,” Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson told reporters in advance of Saturday’s Western Conference semifinal Game 1 between Denver and the Timberwolves. “They’ve been making noise … it’s fun to see how they’ve grown. But we also know that we want to do something special over here.”
The cool kids say Minnesota in six. The cool kids keep conveniently forgetting five things.
1. Michael Malone plays the underdog card the way Hendrix played the Stratocaster. You don't think he's reminded everybody in his backcourt just how much juice Anthony Edwards is getting?
2. The T-Pups are 3-7 inside Ball Arena since 2021. They’re 1-4 in postseason tilts, all-time, at Chopper Circle.
4. Aaron Gordon.
5. Aaron Gordon.
Gordon is to Wolves headliner Karl-Anthony Towns what Kryptonite is to Superman. And that might actually be selling the green stuff a little short.
The Nuggets’ elimination of Minnesota in the first round of last year’s NBA championship run was the work of many hands, in hindsight. But four hands in particular.
Mr. Nugget was the most frequent defender on KAT during Denver’s 4-1 series win, according to NBA.com tracking data. Over 29:51 minutes of mano y mano, Towns shot just 10 of 27 from the floor (37%), with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3-to-9.
A 7-footer with a 24-foot game, KAT’s a stretch-4 when he’s right, beefy enough to bang down low and skilled enough to drop daggers from the arc.
A year ago, at this time, Gordon had him firing lost-distance blanks from the get-go. He kept firing anyway.
By the time Towns got his stroke back, the Wolves were down 2-0. Karl-Anthony Towns finished the series at a 6-for-24 clip on treys, making just 1 of 9 (11%) with AG in his face.
“It definitely stings, it hurts. The first shot was a floater that went everywhere,” KAT offered after Game 2 last spring. “But it’s cool, it’s all right, it’s mental.
“I am not going to get too high or too low. We will just get ready for Game 3. I trust my ability. I work too hard so I am not losing (any) confidence or anything like that. I am going to take my shot every time.”
The Nuggets will probably be fine with that, so long as said shot is outside the paint. As with LeBron James, KAT’s less dangerous when he’s content to camp out on the perimeter and be a jump-shooter first. Since the start of the regular season, Towns has misfired from the arc three or more times in 35 games — and Minnesota won 22 of those (62.8%). In the other 51 tilts, the Wolves went 38-13.
Gordon is a matchup nightmare’s matchup nightmare. The monster hiding under the monster’s bed.
When Western Conference titans clash, individual duels matter. And the duel with AG guarding KAT tilts at about Mile High in Denver’s favor. Over their last 10 head-to-head meetings dating back to the ’21-22 regular season, per NBA.com, Towns is shooting 16 for 42 (38.1%) when defended by AG, and 3 for 15 (20%) on treys, with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7-to-9.
Advantage: Weakness against Kryptonite.
Last year in the Wolves series, Gordon had the Nuggets’ fifth-best Net Rating (plus-6.7 per 100 possessions), according to NBA.com, among players who’d played in all five games. AG recorded Denver’s third best defensive rating — points allowed per 100 possessions — with 107.0.
Nikola Jokic prioritizes winning more than anything, including his horses. This matters to him deeply, his trust in Gordon, as a brother and partner, is solid as sandstone. Yours should be, too. Regardless of what the popular kids say.
“Aaron’s crucial in every series,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray reflected earlier this week. “He’s important every series, man. He’s somebody you’ve got to pay attention to.”
Usually, by the time some team does, it’s already too late. Ashes to ashes. Trust to trust.
