{"id":712815,"date":"2026-04-18T00:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T00:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712815\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T00:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T00:24:50","slug":"anthony-edwards-timberwolves-embracing-latest-installment-of-rivalry-with-denver-nuggets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712815\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves embracing latest installment of rivalry with Denver Nuggets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony Edwards wouldn\u2019t describe it any other way.<\/p>\n

As the Timberwolves star gets ready to face the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs for the third time in the last four years, \u201crivalry\u201d was the only word that came to mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything else to call it but a rivalry,\u201d Edwards said this week. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of rivalries in the league right now, and me and Denver is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That rivalry gets renewed in Saturday afternoon\u2019s Game 1 (1:30 p.m. Amazon Prime) at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n

The previous two meetings involving Edwards couldn\u2019t have ended any more differently.<\/p>\n

The first, in round one in 2023, was a coming-out party of sorts for Edwards, just 21 years old at the time and not yet the perennial All-Star that he\u2019s become. He scored over 31 points per game, also dishing out over five assists and grabbing five rebounds per game, as Minnesota fell to Denver in five games, as the Nuggets went on to win their first NBA championship a few weeks later.<\/p>\n

After missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer to end Game 5, a frustrated Edwards picked up a chair and tossed it aside on his way off the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards reacts adfter missing a last-second, 3-point shot to tie the game in the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

In the second round a year later, Edwards got his revenge, leading the Timberwolves to a 20-point comeback in Game 7 in Denver, ending the Nuggets\u2019 title defense, and having some fun with the home crowd in the process.<\/p>\n

Now 24 years old and arguably the best current American pla<\/p>\n

yer in an NBA dominated international stars, Edwards is taking a mature approach to this latest postseason meeting against the team he knows better than any other in the league \u2014 even if his team is once again a large underdog.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever get too high, never get too low,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been down in a series, we\u2019ve been up and I think when we (get) up, we get a little too high, so (I\u2019m) just going in with an even mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA second-round playoff series Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

Edwards has become the de facto point guard for the Wolves this season and even though he\u2019s been limited recently with a knee injury and is officially questionable for Game 1, he\u2019s likely to have the ball in his hands a ton, surrounded by a starting lineup of Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert.<\/p>\n

Karl-Anthony Towns is not around to help defend Nikola Jokic like he was in 2023 and 2024, while veteran point guard Mike Conley has a significantly diminished role and likely won\u2019t play much of a factor at all in the series with trade deadline acquisition Ayo Dosunmu a key bench piece.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets are different, too, with Cameron Johnson occupying Michael Porter Jr.\u2019s spot in the starting lineup and with a much deeper bench than the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, thanks in large part to Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have slightly different personnel, they have slightly different personnel,\u201d Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. \u201cI think at the heart of what we do is largely the same on both sides. It\u2019s really a lot of the nuance around the differences like with what our personnel is able to do when matched up with theirs, what we\u2019re not able to do anymore that we did in the past. Trying to key in on slightly different tendencies that they might have under Coach Adelman than they had under Coach Malone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) looks to shoot over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)<\/p>\n

As Finch pointed out, at the core of each team is a group that is each so accustomed to playing one another. For the Nuggets, it\u2019s the Jokic-Jamal Murray-Aaron Gordon trio. For the Wolves, it\u2019s Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, who have played more games together than any other trio in the league since 2020.<\/p>\n

The multiple days of rest and preparation have been beneficial to both sides, but they both understand what it takes to beat the other when the ball finally goes up in the air on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can say is that I feel that we\u2019re really ready to play,\u201d Finch said. \u201cWe know our opponent well, they know us well. We\u2019ve had a lot of really wild games here and with them throughout the years. We expect a really long, hard series.\u201d<\/p>\n


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