Thank You Timberwolves for Ending Jokic's Season
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I just want to thank the Minnesota Timberwolves for ousting the Denver Nuggets last night in game six of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
I have made it very clear how much I despise watching Nikola Jokic play the game of basketball. I find him to be boring, only plays one side of the floor, gripes too much to the refs and gets unwarranted recognition. Yes, he is a wonderful offensive basketball player. He makes incredible passes, makes some of the luckiest shots I've ever witnessed and rebounds the hell out of the ball. He gets the ball out of his hands very quickly to start fast breaks, and he is the hub of everything the Nuggets want to do on the offensive end of the floor. But the fact that he has three MVPs is nuts. The fact that some, namely Zach Lowe, have called him the "greatest basketball player in the world", is very far fetched. The fact that others within the media seem to think he will go down as one of the best to ever play the game is categorically wrong to me. He doesn't play defense. His holier than thou attitude towards basketball has grown tired. I'm so goddamn sick and tired of the people who seem to love his love for his horses. His attitude and actions in this series were gross and tired. When he tried to fight Jaden McDaniels for making a garbage layup was some of the fakest toughness I've ever witnessed on a basketball court.
And he has plenty of good players surrounding him on the Nuggets. He is not the only guy who contributes. Jamal Murray, who McDaniels had in shackles, is an all star and key cog to this team's offense. Aaron Gordon, when healthy, fits like a glove. Bruce Bowen is a solid 3 and d guy. Tim Hardaway Jr is a solid three point shooter. Christian Braun is supposed to be a lockdown defender. Peyton Watson had a great season and looks to be a solid starter on this team. So to heap all of this praise on Jokic feels unwarranted and unnecessary.
If he is this all world, all time great player, he should have led the Nuggets to a sweep in this matchup. Or at worst, a 4-1 win. The Timberwolves came into this series limping. I understand that Aaron Gordon has been injured all season. But so has Anthony Edwards. And Donte DiVencenzio tore his ACL at the beginning of game three. Ayo Dosunmu missed last night's game with a calf strain. Injuries are part of the game, but the Timberwolves got ravaged by injuries to very important players. DiVincenzio was the starting 2 guard. He made teams guard the three point line. Teams had to gameplan around him. Dosunmu was a perfect addition at the trade deadline. He was the sixth man they desired. He brought an energy and speed that this team sorely lacked. And Anthony Edwards is one of the better, younger players in the NBA right now. He has gotten better every year, is an all NBA caliber player, an MVP candidate and one of the most fun players to watch. All three of them were out last night. And while Gordon may have been out, the Nuggets had everyone else, and the supposed "best player in the world" all healthy.
Well, Rudy Gobert put Jokic in chains. He couldn't do anything. He would try and gripe and bully and do all of his moves, but it was to no effect. Gobert went back to his old days and completely locked down any and everything Jokic tried to do. He made Jokic so angry, so flustered, that he literally tried to fight dudes on the floor. That was what he was reduced to in this series. Murray couldn't do a thing, especially when McDaniels was guarding him. McDaniels did such an amazing job on him. It was a joy to watch. After McDaniels came out and said that everyone on the Nuggets was bad defensively, he had to back it up. And he did. So much so that McDaniels was the star of the closeout game last night. The lights weren't too bright for him.
I just loved seeing this Nuggets team get beaten and knocked out by a team that no one gave much of a shot, myself included. The Timberwolves seemed dead on arrival and the Nuggets were playing offense very well. I should have, and this includes others, taken into account how bad their defense had gotten though at the end of the season. They were horrendous on that end, and all the Timberwolves had to do was slow down the offense just a bit, which they were able to do. I don't care what the Timberwolves do from here on out in the playoffs. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't put up much of a fight against the Spurs. The Timberwolves, undermanned mind you, took out the media's darling team. They beat the team that all the white writers and podcasters over at The Ringer wanted to win it all. It was glorious to see Jaden McDaniels rip their heart out and show it to them. I loved seeing all these role players on the T'Wolves take it to this supposed title contender.
Thank you Minnesota. Thank you Chris Finch. Thank you Mike Conley, Naz Reid and mostly, Jaden McDaniels. The sheer fact that I don't have to watch or see the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic anymore during these playoffs is such a gift and I will be forever grateful to the Timberwolves.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.