Can Minnesota pull off another upset?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are heading back to the playoffs for the fifth straight year, and the path forward runs right through Denver.
Minnesota finished the regular season 49-33 as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, setting up a first-round matchup with the third-seeded Nuggets, who went 54-28 and enter as one of the hottest teams in basketball after closing the year on a 12-game winning streak.
This is familiar territory for both sides. Denver took the regular season series 3-1, winning three of the first four meetings before Minnesota grabbed the final matchup on March 1.
The Nuggets controlled those earlier games largely because of Nikola Jokic, who was almost impossible to deal with every time these two played.
Health Is the Biggest Question
The Timberwolves are banged up heading into this series.
Anthony Edwards put together a career-best regular season with 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, but a right knee injury kept him out of 11 of the final 14 games.
He played briefly in the last stretch, dropping 22 points against Houston on April 10, then sat out the finale to rest up.
Jaden McDaniels dealt with left knee patella tendinopathy that cost him six games, though he did return and looked solid in his comeback, scoring 18 points in 19 minutes against Orlando.
Naz Reid also missed time with a shoulder issue down the stretch.
What Denver Brings to the Table
The Nuggets are built around Nikola Jokic, who finished the year averaging 27.8 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game and became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists in the same season.
Jokic missed time earlier in the year with a knee injury and is managing a wrist issue, but he has been playing at an MVP-caliber level.
Denver also has Jamal Murray running the backcourt and Cam Johnson providing scoring from the wing.
How Minnesota Can Pull the Upset
If the Timberwolves want to win this series, it starts with Edwards being healthy enough to carry the scoring load and attack Jokic in pick-and-roll situations where Denver has to make tough decisions.
Minnesota reached the Western Conference Finals in both 2024 and 2025, so the playoff experience is there, and players like Ayo Dosunmu and Donte DiVincenzo have shown they can keep things afloat when Edwards is unavailable.
Rudy Gobert anchoring the defense with 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game gives Minnesota a rim protector who can make things tough inside, even against Jokic.
Julius Randle averaged 21.1 points this season, and if he can be that consistent second option while Dosunmu and Terrence Shannon Jr. chip in off the bench, the Timberwolves have enough to make this a real series.
Denver is the favorite, but Minnesota has the talent and toughness to push things if they get healthy at the right time.