The Denver Nuggets have their toughest task yet within their current first-round series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves: that’s their upcoming Game 6 set in the Twin Cities.
Their season’s on the line just as it was in Game 5. They’re back within a hostile road environment once again. And having not won a game on the road in Minnesota yet within this series, the Nuggets will have to ensure they’re firing on all cylinders to avoid a repeat of either Game 3 or 4.
But for a three-time MVP, NBA champion like Nikola Jokic, these back-against-the-wall situations are moments he’s been a part of many times before. So he knows more than anybody what exactly is necessary to ensure the Nuggets can put together a winning effort in Game 6 to keep the ball rolling into a Game 7.
Above all, it relies on both physicality and focus; something he felt like the Nuggets did throughout Game 5 to extend the series in the first place.
“I mean definitely more physicality, focus-wise,” Jokic said of what the Nuggets need in Game 6. ” I have been here before and we know that we need to, in an elimination game, be extremely focused and extremely locked in. I think we did that for most of this game.”
“We’re going to create our own energy. We’re going to thrive off that. We’re not going to let noise affect us.”
One factor that will be a bit different for the Nuggets entering Game 6 from the previous two times they faced off will be the lack of Anthony Edwards in the starting five, as he’s now slated to miss the remainder of the series with the hyperextended knee he suffered in the middle of Game 4.
Being without an All-NBA guard is a big loss for any team’s game plan. But in the mind of Jokic, that won’t change much on the Nuggets’ front.
While Edwards’ impact for the Timberwolves and is immense on both sides of the ball, the Timberwolves’ staff can make things tough without him, thus leaving the focus for Jokic solely centered upon what he and the Nuggets can do themselves.
“He’s definitely one of the most talented players in the NBA,” Jokic said. “His impact is huge… They definitely miss an advantage on the court, and the guy who’s making [the] advantage. But their coaching staff is so good.”
“They always make little actions for the players who can make advantages. We need to think about us and not them.”
If the Nuggets can walk into Minnesota and keep the momentum flowing on both sides of the ball for a second win in a row and a 3-3 series going back to Denver, all bets are off as to what could be expected in Game 7.
However, before getting to that step of the comeback, the Nuggets have to take care of business in Minnesota, which so far in the series has proven to be a task that’s much easier said than done.
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