Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals is set for Friday night as the Denver Nuggets will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota has taken a 2-0 series lead over Denver, and they will look to take complete control.
The Denver Nuggets are the defending NBA Champions, but they have work to do if they are going to repeat this season. Denver had little trouble in getting past the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1, but things have gotten harder.
Minnesota has yet to lose a game so far in the playoffs as they completed a four-game sweep over the Phoenix Suns in Round 1. The Timberwolves have stolen home court advantage from the Nuggets and now need to find a way to keep it.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 4.5 point betting favorites in Game 3 of this series, and the over/under line is set at 204.5 total points.
Denver Must Make Shots
The Denver Nuggets are averaging just 89.5 points per game so far in this series, and they have been shooting poorly from the field. Jamal Murray has really come up short for the Nuggets and he will have to come up with some big plays.
Nikola Jokic continues to do everything he can to help the Nuggets win games, but even that hasn’t been enough in this series. Denver simply must find a way to score more points on offense, but it’s not going to be easy to get done.
The Nuggets have held the Timberwolves to 106 points in each of the first two games, and that is good enough to win on most nights. Denver just needs to figure out offense in order to climb back into the series.
Edwards Leading the Wolves
Anthony Edwards is averaging over 32 points per game during the postseason, and he has stepped up his game throughout the playoffs. Edwards went off for 43 points in the series opener, and the Nuggets don’t seem to have an answer for him.
Minnesota will need some other players to step up on offense, and Naz Reid has proven that he can get it done. The Timberwolves will try to win this game on offense yet again, but their defense has been dominant as well.
Rudy Gobert will make his return to the floor on Friday night, and that’s going to give Minnesota a huge boost as well. The Timberwolves have struggled to slow down Jokic up to this point, but it hasn’t mattered in this series.
Timberwolves Take Game 3
The Denver Nuggets came into the playoffs as a big favorite to win the Western Conference, but they have run into a major problem. Minnesota has been better on both ends of the floor, and this Nuggets team just doesn’t appear to have any answers.
The Timberwolves not only won the two games in Denver to begin the series, but they took complete control of each matchup. Minnesota will have the backing of a huge crowd in this game, and that should allow them to roll to a big win.
Bet the Minnesota Timberwolves -4.5 as they are going to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Denver Nuggets with another great performance.
