Nuggets Vs Timberwolves Injury Report: Are Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards Playing In The Battle For West #1?

The Ball Arena will be witness tomorrow to an epic battle between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Denver Nuggets will be hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves at 9:00 PM ET. The home team sits atop with a 51-22 record while the Timberwolves follow right behind with a 50-22 record. Unsurprisingly, the Nuggets are favored to win the match.

But even so, the latest injury update on both the teams has fans concerned. Denver has their superstar Nikola Jokic listed as ‘Probable’ with back pain/hip inflammation while Jamal Murray is ‘Questionable’ with knee inflammation and Zeke Nnaji is still ‘Out’. For the Wolves, Anthony Edwards is ‘Questionable’ with a back spasm, and so is Rudy Gobert with a left rib sprain. As for Karl-Anthony Towns, the forward remains ‘Out. ‘

It goes without saying that both Edwards and Jokic are having splendid seasons. The Serbian big man is averaging 26.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game. The ‘Ant-Man’ averages 26.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game this season. Both the teams also play better with their superstars on the floor. The ‘Mile High City’ is 49-21 with the ‘Joker’ while the ‘City of Lakes’ is 48-21 with Edwards on the floor.

Denver and Minnesota have gone against each other twice this season and the wins are split. In the last game (March 19), the Nuggets won 115-112. With two more games left in the coming days between them, the results would prove extremely crucial for their playoff standings.

The Timberwolves playoff picture

If we were to surmise the Wolves’ position in the postseason, it would fall under ‘pretty good’. The team has an almost certain control over gaining home-court advantage in either one of the top three spots. Both teams are tied in the loss column. But they have two more games to play against each other. And if the Timberwolves win both games, they obviously clinch the top spot. But if the win-loss is split, then the Wolves win the tiebreaker over Denver simply because they have a better division record.

But the fact is that the Denver Nuggets are an excellent team. The team has had seven years to get to know each other, understand the strengths and weaknesses, and play off them before finally coming together as one to clinch the title last season. The Timberwolves, compared to them, are a relatively new and young team. Especially in the leadership of Anthony Edwards.

While he benefits a lot from veteran guidance, the Nuggets with Jokic at the helm have a lot more playoff experience than Edwards. But none of it matters when it comes to the NBA. There is no saying what will happen in the next moment. But for now, the Wolves are still on for the top spot in the West.

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