{"id":712336,"date":"2026-04-17T10:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712336\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:03:23","slug":"the-rematch-timberwolves-and-nuggets-set-for-2026-playoff-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712336\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rematch: Timberwolves and Nuggets Set for 2026 Playoff Clash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">DENVER \u2014 One of the NBA\u2019s most intense budding rivalries writes its next chapter tomorrow, as the #3 seed Denver Nuggets host the #6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 1 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nba\/article\/timberwolves-vs-nuggets-who-wins-heavyweight-clash-series-keys-schedule-and-prediction-160230182.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Western Conference First Round<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">This is the fourth time in nine seasons these two Northwest Division foes have met with postseason stakes, and after Minnesota\u2019s thrilling Game 7 victory in the 2024 playoffs, the Nuggets have had this date circled on their calendar.<\/p>\n<p>The Storylines: Revenge vs. Resilience<br \/>\n1. Denver\u2019s Mission for Vengeance<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">The Nuggets (54\u201328) are entering the postseason on a tear, having closed the regular season with 12 consecutive wins. Unlike last year, when Minnesota swept the regular-season series, Denver asserted their dominance this season by winning three of the four matchups. Nikola Joki\u0107 remains the sun around which the Denver offense orbits, coming off another MVP-caliber season where he averaged nearly 26 points and 11 assists.<\/p>\n<p>2. The Defensive Test<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">For Minnesota (49\u201333), the goal is to specifically neutralize Joki\u0107. Rudy Gobert provides the size and length that historically bother the Nuggets\u2019 superstar. But he will need help from Julius Randle and Naz Reid.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\">Anthony Edwards: \u201cAnt-Man\u201d averaged 28.8 PPG this season and remains the ultimate X-factor. In their lone win against Denver on March 1, Edwards poured in 21 points to lead a balanced attack.<\/p>\n<p>Key Matchups &amp; Health Watch<\/p>\n<p>Nikola Joki\u0107 vs. Rudy Gobert: The perennial heavyweight battle. If Gobert can stay out of foul trouble and limit Joki\u0107\u2019s playmaking, the Wolves can steal a game in Denver\u2019s thin air.<br \/>\nJamal Murray vs. Anthony Edwards: Two of the most explosive playoff performers in the league. Murray has been excellent down the stretch, but he\u2019ll need to be a defensive pest against Edwards to keep the Wolves\u2019 offense from catching fire.<br \/>\nInjury Report: * Nuggets: Defensive spark plug Peyton Watson is \u201cweek-to-week\u201d with a re-aggravated hamstring and may miss the start of the series.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"19\">The Bottom Line: Denver is the heavy favorite (-6.5 for Game 1) and enters with all the momentum. However, Minnesota has proven they have the blueprint to beat this team in a seven-game series. If the Timberwolves can split the first two games in Denver, we are headed for another long, \u201cbrutal\u201d series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENVER \u2014 One of the NBA\u2019s most intense budding rivalries writes its next chapter tomorrow, as the #3&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,187,307,152,3954,6,253,373,32897,83,308],"class_list":{"0":"post-712336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-denver-nuggets","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","12":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nikola-jokic","15":"tag-rudy-gobert","16":"tag-sports-blog","17":"tag-sports-news","18":"tag-timberwolves"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116419480966255668","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}