With every Anthony Edwards dunk, jumper and definitive win, he is gaining the love of NBA fans across the country. To put it politely, Minnesota has trounced the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the first two games of this Western Conference semifinals series.
On “Get Up” on Tuesday morning, most of the panel, especially Jay Williams, thought the series was already over. Brian Windhorst tried to be the voice of reason, reminding them to “never underestimate the heart of a champion,” but it’s hard to believe that Minnesota would lose this series after witnessing these two massacres.
The 26-point win on Monday was the largest road win in Timberwolves playoff history. The game overall was the lowest scoring game in Denver since 2015.
Rudy Gobert Avoided A PR Catastrophe
Keep in mind that Minnesota was playing without center Rudy Gobert who received permission from the team to go see the birth of his baby boy. If Minnesota had lost that game, Gobert’s absence would have been a huge story. Instead, it received some social media attention, but Edwards and the Minnesota T-Wolves defense bailed him out. Gobert’s absence is merely a footnote in the story that is unfolding.
The T-Wolves’ young squad were all over Nuggets players on defense and played at an energy level that Denver couldn’t match.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was harassed the entire game and visibly frustrated shooting a career playoff worst 3-for-18. Murray also threw a heating pad on the court from the bench in frustration and it’s the second time he has done something of that nature.
Will Jamal Murray Be Suspended For Game 3 For Throwing Heating Pad On Court?
Williams said Murray should be suspended for Game 3.
“I feel like he should be suspended for a game,” Williams said. “That was an inch away from Karl Anthony Towns planting his right foot, right on that thing. That could have hurt him. He could have been out of the game. I understand it’s not precedent, but that was such a immature move by Jamal Murray.”
NBA analyst Tim Legler added: “I don’t see how any league wouldn’t suspend a player for throwing something on the court…As a player you’ve got to have better control over our emotions than that.”
Denver’s second-best player could be expecting a suspension from the league, so add the uncertainty of Murray to the building dilemma that Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets find themselves in against a young and hungry squad led by a tandem of players in Ant-Man and KAT, who could go down in history.
Jamal Murray Facing Suspension, Must Regain Composure
Murray is a champion and has to be able to keep his composure. Minnesota is playing an advanced version of bully ball early in this series. It hasn’t gone as Denver would like, but it’s far from over. Murray’s action is that of a defeated player whose team got punched in the mouth harder than expected.
He first tried to throw a towel at the official. And when that fell short, he tossed the heat pad, which was almost stepped on by several players, which could have been a catastrophe.
The tantrums, the throwing objects on the court in the middle of a play, beefing with officials and playing poorly. Maybe a one-game suspension would get him refocused on the task at hand.
Denver coach Mike Malone made no excuses.
“We got outcoached we got outplayed,” said Malone in the postgame presser. “You can feel sorry for yourself… or get focused for Game 3.”
There are five games left in the series and Mike Malone and his two-time MVP need to figure out a new plan. Murray, who was fined $100K by the league for the incident, will play a huge part in that.
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