The saying is….if you can walk it, it ain’t just talkin’. And that’s exactly what transpired on Thursday night in Minnesota as the injury decimated TWolves outworked, out hustled, and out gut-checked the Denver Nuggets by a score of 110-98 in a Game 6 clutch win.
Denver’s season is over, while the TWolves will open Round 2 at the San Antonio Spurs sometime this week-end.
Yeah, sure, the Nuggets’ best two way player in Aaron Gordon didn’t play, but Minnesota was missing Anthony Edwards 28.8 points a game, plus the services of their best three point shooter in Donte D. Not to mention their best two way guard off the bench in Ayo Dosunmu and sometimes used in the rotation Kyle Anderson.
The two best players on the floor weren’t Jokic and Jamal Murray. Nope. The best offensive player on the floor with 32 points and 10 rebounds was Jaden McDaniels. The second best Wolves’ player was also Jaden McDaniels…but on defense as he literally shut down Jamal Murray for however minutes Jamal ended up playing in this elimination game for the Nuggets.
This game was about Minnesota only playing eight players and missing their best player and just basically doing what I always talk about on here…the little intangible bringing your lunchpail things to the arena.
Like offenisve rebounds. Like points off turnovers. Like deflecting passes. Like making Jokic and Jamal Murray work for every inch of space and every half second of time every time they posessed the ball.
Like having that sled dog mentality where there is no way you’re walking off the field, court, or ice and making sure you never got out-worked or out-hustled.
This was old school basketball and the Minnesota Timberwolves are moving on while the Denver Nuggets’ front office is going to have to think seriously whether David Adelman is the man moving forward to get the Nuggets’ to play like Minnesota played tonight.
Jaden McDaniels…dude, this is the first time I’ve featured you on my blog. It’s up to you if I see you on here again during the Spurs series. That’s up to you.
Congrats on a great game.
Mike J