The Denver Nuggets are gearing up to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
These two teams meet again. Fierce division rivals, Minnesota and Devner always bring their best in each meeting.
Fans often think back to the playoff series from two years ago, when Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards drove the dagger into the Nuggets in Game 7 at Ball Arena.
Will Denver exact revenge? Will Minnesota rinse and repeat?
We’ll find out starting tomorrow in a game that promises to produce plenty of theatrics. After all, it’s the least you can expect from a good-old fashion first round series.
Either of these teams have the potential to make a deeper fun, but because they face each other round one, one team will ultimately get booted from the tournament in disappointing fashion.
As Game 1 marches closer, there is some injury news to both sides that can impact how this battle begins.
Denver Nuggets Get News on Rising Star Swingman
The Nuggets have had a whacky season. They started well and kept it up for a little while. Then the calendar turned to 2026. Then Denver had a roughly 40-game stretch where it was a .500 basketball team. Let that sink in for just a second.
A Nikola Jokic-led team was just meh for a long stretch of the season. For a while, it even felt like the Nuggets may slip into the play-in, especially when losses were lumped together with Peyton Watson’s hamstring injury.
Watson, 23, averaged 14.6 points per game while shooting a touch over 41% from the 3-point line in the regular season. That is quite the increase from his roughly eight points per game and 35% from 3 last season.
Watson appeared to be the ideal successor to the traded Michael Porter Jr. — but then he got hurt … and hurt again.
Watson suffered a hamstring strain on two different occasions this season, limiting him to just 54 games in the regular season. After a long absence, the Nuggets were thrilled to get Watson back in March, just in time for a bit of a push before the playoffs.
However, reaggravated the injury late last month — just when the Nuggets were hoping to incorporate the young rising star into the offense more as they went on a winning streak to close the season.
Missing Watson was the only negative of the Nuggets’ late season rally.
Will Watson Be Ready for Game 1?
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, Watson will not suit up for Game 1 against the Timberwolves. He has been ruled out once again with a hamstring strain.
Without Watson, Denver has placed added responsibilities on forwards Christian Braun and Tim Hardaway Jr. Their play has come and gone, especially offensively, but Denver perhaps remains optimistic Braun and Hardaway Jr. can catch a rhythm in the postseason.
With Jokic often garnering so much attention, Braun and Hardaway Jr. will likely get plenty of good looks from the perimeter. Let’s see if they can knock them down consistently.
For now Watson remains out indefinitely, a bummer for the Nuggets.
Nuggets Make Major Peyton Watson Announcement Before Game 1 vs Timberwolves