Top-rated sportsbooks have released their NBA odds for Game 7 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets. For your best bets, I will recommend investing in the Nuggets.
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NBA Pick: Nuggets -5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets
Sunday, May 19, 2024 – 08:00 PM ET at Ball Arena
Forgetting Game 6
Bettors might have regained confidence in the Timberwolves after their blowout win against the Nuggets. However, Game 6 simply isn’t representative of what these teams are capable of doing, especially when we’re talking about a Game 7.
Denver did not need Game 6, whereas Minnesota did. The Nuggets also knew that Game 7 would be in their venue.
I can see how it might be construed as controversial to claim that a team didn’t give effort, in an attempt to defend that team’s capability. However, the Nuggets lost by 45 points. If that isn’t a lack of effort, then I don’t know what is.
Denver didn’t simply lack effort. It underperformed tremendously insofar as it did give effort.
In particular, the Nuggets missed many open and a ton of wide-open three-pointers. They missed 7 of the former and an absurd 18 of the latter. In terms of conversion rate, they underachieved to an absurd degree.
It is unreasonable to expect such underachievement to continue, especially because Denver shoots so well at home – the Nuggets shoot 38.4 percent from deep at home, which is top-notch.
Denver’s Best Is the Best
We’ve seen Denver at its best. Upon making adjustments after falling behind 2-0 in the series, the Nuggets showed that they can score comfortably on Minnesota’s defense.
The Timberwolves thrive on defense by using their length to congest the interior. However, the Nuggets stretched out Minnesota’s defense with guys like power forward Aaron Gordon who is shooting the ball superbly from deep in this series.
They give Minnesota too many good players to guard, with Michael Porter Jr. operating as another three-point weapon, complementing the interior prowess of Nikola Jokic, whose array of finesse moves and bully ball inside make him impossible to guard even for four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
A bounce-back game from Jamal Murray, Jokic’s characteristically elite facilitating, the normally efficient three-point shooting of Reggie Jackson off the bench and the versatile scoring of Christian Braun will further help Denver score enough points to cover the spread.
Guarding Minnesota
In Game 6, Minnesota could finally count on Jaden McDaniels‘ shooting, although he is shooting under 30% from deep in this postseason. Without him or Gobert posing a threat, Denver is essentially able to guard the Timberwolves five on three.
Minnesota’s offense is too easy to guard, whereas the Nuggets with their versatile group of scorers and their depth of talent will have their way on offense.
Takeaway
We’ve seen the best version of each team. I like Denver’s best to beat Minnesota’s best by a clear margin, although the Timberwolves won’t look remotely as good as they did in Game 6.
This has been a great season for Minnesota, but the defending champs have shown in this series how good they still are. Expect them to bounce back with an in-rhythm offensive output, strong defense and a double-digit victory.
NBA Pick: Nuggets -5 (-110) at BetOnline
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