Timberwolves vs. Nuggets series prediction and odds (Denver's offense overpowers shorthanded T'Wolves)

The Denver Nuggets enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference as two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic looks to deliver the team’s first ever NBA Finals appearance.

Denver starts its postseason push against the Minnesota Timberwolves’, who had to fight through the Play-In Tournament to earn the No. 8 seed despite a laundry list of injuries and internal turmoil.

The T’Wolves withstood Rudy Gobert’s outburst on the sideline (and lingering back injury), Karl-Anthony Towns’ calf injury that cost him a majority of the season, Anthony Edwards’ banged up shoulder that he injured in the first Play-In Game vs. the Lakers and a pair of season ending injuries to Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid. So, you could say that the team limps into the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets had the No. 1 seed in hand for so long that they coasted for the last month-plus of the season. Will they return to its elite status right away, or will the team’s drop in play continue?

Here’s our series preview for the 1/8 matchup out west.

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets series odds

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets correct score (Exact outcome odds)

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets prediction and pick

The two teams split the season series that included three games that had a double digit difference, but in the one that Minnesota won by 30, Jokic didn’t play. To be fair, Towns didn’t play in all four of the matchups, but I struggle to see either him or Rudy Gobert slowing down Jokic.

Minnesota has a top 10 defense in terms of points allowed per 100 possessions, but Jokic is a perfect antidote to the T’Wolves defense that is predicated around its size inside.

The MVP will lift Gobert out from the rim and render him helpless along the perimeter with inverted pick-and-rolls. The Nuggets had a top five offense in the league this season, and it has one of the best playmakers of all time on the floor, Gobert has proven he can’t handle the matchup.

I expect the French big to end up on the bench for key parts of this game and it puts a lot of pressure on KAT, the team’s only viable big man after Gobert.

I have some concerns about the Nuggets defense that is league average, but Edwards looks worse for ware after some tough falls in the Lakers game earlier this week. He can have a few heat check moments, but not enough to pull a 1/8 stunner. KAT is on a bulky calf and the T’Wolves may be running on fumes quickly.

The schedule doesn’t do Minny any favors either. The team will be in trouble early and on the road in this series, having just played a grueling Play-In schedule that got them to the No. 8 seed, and only have one day off before traveling to altitude to play at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets are 34-7 on the year.

Maybe I have too much faith in the extra gear from the Nuggets that has been hit-or-miss all season, but I think they send a banged up Timberwolves team home in five in Denver.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.