The Timberwolves got to Denver on Thursday and used Friday for a higher-intensity practice, trying to sharpen their legs and their timing before Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets on Saturday. Anthony Edwards was listed as questionable on the injury report because of right knee injury maintenance, but the team did not sound worried that he was in danger of missing the opener.
Edwards worked drills with player development coach Chris Hines at the end of practice and stayed behind after the rest of the team left to get extra work in. He walked out of the arena with ice on both knees, but the mood around the mn timberwolves suggested caution more than alarm. Jaden McDaniels said he felt fine after the walkthrough and is not on the injury report, another sign the Wolves expect to have most of their core ready when the series starts in Denver.
Chris Finch said the early trip was meant to help the Wolves get in rhythm and get used to the environment, and he said the team always tries to travel out early in the playoffs so practice is more spirited than a standard walkthrough. That matters because Denver’s altitude and its zone defense can both slow an opponent down. The Nuggets leaned heavily on zone in their second-round series against Oklahoma City a season ago, and the Wolves have been susceptible at times to bogging down against it.
Finch said Minnesota has spent this week practicing against Denver’s zone and exploring ways to attack it with different bodies in the middle. He said Julius Randle, McDaniels and Kyle Anderson could all be used there, giving the Wolves multiple playmakers to break up the look. Finch also said the first time Minnesota saw Denver throw out zone in a home game, it caught the team by surprise and they were not good against it, but he believes the offense is in a better place now even if every team goes through stretches where things stall.
There is still injury uncertainty on the Denver side. Peyton Watson will miss his sixth game in a row because of a right hamstring strain, and Spencer Jones is questionable with the same issue. Watson has played in only five games since Feb. 7 because of hamstring problems, leaving the Nuggets thinner on the wing as they prepare to open the series at home.
For Minnesota, the immediate test is simple: keep Edwards healthy enough to take the floor, and make sure the offense does not freeze when Denver changes the picture. Finch has seen enough to know that zone can still bend a playoff game, and Saturday’s opener should show whether the mn timberwolves have finally found the answers before the series has time to tilt.
