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Denver, CO

Nuggets Journal: Timberwolves no longer Denver’s matchup nightmare after blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade

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Nuggets Journal: Timberwolves no longer Denver’s matchup nightmare after blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade


There are about 220 million valid ways to dissect the shocking trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York on the eve of NBA training camp.

There’s the unusual timing on both sides. For the Timberwolves, it was an abrupt severing of a core that lifted the franchise to new historic heights five months earlier. For the Knicks, it was a sudden change of direction shortly after plotting a clear strategic course that involved roster flexibility and a bunch of dudes who went to college together.

Then there’s the immediate impact on two title contenders to consider. The long-term ramifications for each team’s window. The questionable fit of Julius Randle in Minnesota. The substantial depth sacrificed by New York. The scoring punch of Donte DiVincenzo for a middling Timberwolves offense. The enormity of Towns joining a Knicks starting lineup that only needed a center. The financial uncertainty in Minnesota as an ownership war wages. The $220 million owed to KAT by New York as his supermax contract ages.

The list goes on. Seriously, it does.

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This was a bonafide plot twist to the 2024 NBA offseason, worthy of M. Night Shyamalan. Now that the blockbuster trade is unofficially two weeks old, there’s been abundant time to process all the basketball and financial layers. And still, it feels like there’s just one aspect that matters in Denver.

The Timberwolves are no longer a nightmare matchup.

That doesn’t mean they can’t still beat the Nuggets in a series. And it doesn’t mean Denver is completely free of the matchup problem they presented in the first place. Nonetheless, the team that conquered the Nuggets is no longer the same, and that should lift a huge weight off the shoulders of Nikola Jokic.

Towns has been roundly critiqued over the years for his lapses in defensive maturity and propensity for committing avoidable fouls, but he was everything Minnesota needed him to be in the playoffs. He was often Jokic’s man-to-man matchup in the post, holding his ground against Jokic’s attempts to back him down and allowing Rudy Gobert to maximize his defensive prowess as a backside helper and rim protector. The double-big lineup was instrumental in Minnesota’s seven-game triumph over the defending champions.

The Nuggets’ starting lineup had averaged 125.9 points per 100 possessions during the regular season, in 958 minutes of playing time. No other five-man lineup in the NBA posted a higher offensive rating in more than 220 minutes. But against the Timberwolves, that same unstoppable Denver lineup was shockingly stifled in 136 minutes, finishing the second-round series with a 102.6 offensive rating.

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Towns wasn’t the Wolves’ best individual defender by any stretch. But he was inseparable from the defensive identity that allowed them to prevail.

Now their double-big lineup options are limited to the duo of Gobert and Naz Reid, the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24. Reid is an outstanding player in his own right, but Jokic has devoured him in the post. Minnesota might be better off guarding the three-time MVP more traditionally with Gobert, but that matchup historically hasn’t gone well for him either.

“We’re worried about us,” Nuggets coach Michael said when asked about the trade last week in Abu Dhabi. “We don’t concern ourselves with what’s going on outside of our gym. We’re just worried about the Denver Nuggets and what we try to do on a daily basis.”

Smart answer. Malone wasn’t about to step on a land mine and give Minnesota free bulletin board material. Jamal Murray took that line of thinking one step further when he was asked about the trade the day after it was first reported.

“What trade?” he responded.

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“I’m not on social media,” the point guard went on to say after receiving the update. “… I just worry about us. I don’t really care about everybody else.”

Towns was also a problem on his better side of the floor, obviously. When Kentavious Caldwell-Pope struggled to contain Anthony Edwards, Malone responded by cross-matching the immensely versatile Aaron Gordon against Edwards. With the Timberwolves playing two centers, that often left Denver with a smaller defender stuck guarding KAT in the paint. His 23-point, 12-rebound Game 7 performance won’t soon be forgotten in Minnesota.

Throughout last season and especially during the playoffs, much was made of the notion that ex-Nuggets GM Tim Connelly constructed the Timberwolves to be a perfect antithesis to Denver. It strains credulity to some extent, simply because the timelines don’t add up. Connelly’s original trade for Gobert that established the center tandem took place in 2022, a year before the Nuggets went on their championship run.

Perhaps he possessed a greater understanding than most executives, owing to his close proximity to Denver, of what the Nuggets were about to become. But if that was truly the driving force behind the Timberwolves’ roster moves, they’ve suddenly abandoned it awfully fast.

Randle is Minnesota’s starting power forward. Connelly’s frontcourt is smaller.

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Enter Sam Presti, whose unfinished product of a roster last season already accomplished something intimidating. The Thunder were the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history. Then they threw $87 million at Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. That philosophy on how to neutralize Jokic? It didn’t disappear from the league entirely. It just moved south.

Now it’s official. Oklahoma City has seemingly replaced Minnesota as the Western Conference contender that’s most threatening to Denver from a matchup standpoint. That’s the real plot twist of this offseason, accentuated by the KAT trade.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is in a flexible position. Hartenstein might not start most nights. There’s just too much talent to justify using a double-big lineup every night, regardless of matchup. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and now Alex Caruso are standing by. (Dort and Caruso should be even more horrifying for Murray to deal with than Minnesota’s elite wing defenders.) And Chet Holmgren proved himself to be more than capable of holding down the fort as a center last season.

But some opponents might demand a different approach. A proven approach. If a defender as wobbly as Towns managed to help wreak so much havoc against Jokic, imagine what OKC can accomplish with two 7-footers who both have excellent reputations at that end of the floor. Hartenstein is the muscle. Holmgren is Gobert. The Nuggets could get an early look at that coverage next week when they host the Thunder in a preseason game — or a week later, for the season-opener at Ball Arena.

But, hey, at least Minnesota shouldn’t be able to effectively execute that coverage anymore.

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Denver, CO

Things to do this weekend: Denver’s first dog fair will surround you with unconditional love

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Things to do this weekend: Denver’s first dog fair will surround you with unconditional love


Dogs like Bailey — the former Dog of the Week in The Denver Post’s Adventurist newsletter — will be in good company at the first Denver Dog Fair this weekend. (Provided by Barbara Ellis)

Denver Dog Fair

Saturday-Sunday. Woof! If the last few weeks have left you panting, why not surround yourself with unconditional love? The first Denver Dog Fair takes place on Nov. 22 and 23 with the promise of unending poochie goodness. There will be dog adoption booths, “celebrity” dogs, performances and tricks, a dog-fashion show, vendors, a dozen food trucks, kids’ bounce house, crafting, and more.

It takes place indoors at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, 25690 E. Quincy Ave. in Aurora, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Tickets: $20, good for both days; 5 and under free. $5 per dog. Price includes all entertainment and activities (minus adoption fees and food/drink). denverdogfair.com

Christkindlmarket and the Mile High Tree

Friday. The annual Mile High Tree at Civic Center park has quickly become a modern classic in Denver, with its 110-foot-tall display of 60,000, color-changing LED lights. Its location next to the annual Christkindlmarket and across from the brightly decorated Denver City & County Building makes it a one-stop shop for free family holiday fun.

At the 24th Christkindlmarket you’ll find local vendors plus Glühwein (mulled spiced wine), German biers and hot chocolate, Bavarian-style pretzels, fresh smoked salmon, Knödel, goulash, Nürnberger sausages, pastries, caramels and European chocolates. The tree’s light-and-music shows run from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly.

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The market and tree both open on Friday, Nov. 22, with the market running through Dec. 23. The market is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. denver.org/milehighholidays/mile-high-tree or christkindlmarketdenver.com

Charlie Fausette, 6, from Tampa, Fla., ice skates with her father Rob at Downtown Denver Rink in Denver on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Charlie Fausette, 6, from Tampa, Fla., ice skates with her father Rob at Downtown Denver Rink in Denver on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Free ice skating downtown

Through Feb. 2, 2025. Whatever the weather, you can get a bit of holiday fun in by stopping by the popular Downtown Denver Rink. The rink, which basically bisects the 16th Street Mall’s Skyline Park (just outside the Daniels and Fisher Clocktower at 16th and Arapahoe streets), is a public rink where you can rent or bring your own skates.

It’s open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Entry is free; skate rentals are $12 for adults and $9 for kids 12 and under. winterindenver.com/rink

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be ready for photos at the Denver Christmas Show, this year moving to the National Western Complex. (Provided by Michelle Ellis)
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be ready for photos at the Denver Christmas Show, this year moving to the National Western Complex. (Provided by Michelle Ellis)

A very merry Denver Christmas Show

Friday-Sunday. You don’t have to be in the market for gifts to get something out of the Denver Christmas Show at the National Western Complex. It’s a family-friendly affair, with Santa visits (and photos), daily storytime and hot cocoa with Mrs. Claus, live music, dancing, and more.

Of course, if you want to pick up some candy or chocolate, local gifts, or holiday decor, that will be right there too (with free gift wrapping), as well as plenty of other vendors. Tickets for the Friday, Nov. 22-Sunday, Nov. 24, event are $14 for 14-and-up, and free for 13-and-under. It runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 4655 Humboldt St. in Denver. denverchristmasshow.com

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Denver, CO

Dallas plays Denver on 3-game win streak

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Dallas plays Denver on 3-game win streak


Associated Press

Dallas Mavericks (8-7, 11th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (8-5, fifth in the Western Conference)

Denver; Friday, 10 p.m. EST

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BOTTOM LINE: Dallas seeks to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Mavericks take on Denver.

The Nuggets are 4-5 in Western Conference games. Denver is fifth in the league with 46.2 rebounds led by Nikola Jokic averaging 13.7.

The Mavericks have gone 6-6 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 17.2 fast break points per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 4.6.

The Nuggets make 46.8% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Mavericks have allowed to their opponents (44.7%). The Mavericks average 115.6 points per game, 0.5 more than the 115.1 the Nuggets give up to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Porter Jr. is shooting 47.9% and averaging 18.3 points for the Nuggets.

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Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.3 points and 5.2 assists for the Mavericks.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 45.4 rebounds, 30.7 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.0 points per game.

Mavericks: 5-5, averaging 118.0 points, 44.3 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.2 points.

INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: out (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Nikola Jokic: day to day (personal).

Mavericks: Dante Exum: out (wrist).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Denver, CO

Billie Eilish snuggles with rescue puppy, pony before Denver concert

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Billie Eilish snuggles with rescue puppy, pony before Denver concert


Pop music icon Billie Eilish had a very important request before performing a sold-out show at Denver’s Ball Arena on Tuesday night: She wanted to snuggle with some animals.

Two Front Range shelters were more than happy to bring some furry friends for a backstage meet-and-greet with Eilish and her team, Brighter Days Dog Rescue founder and director Becca Orin said.

Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary first got the request through the venue, and the Commerce City sanctuary teamed up with Brighter Days in Boulder to bring puppies, kittens and a pony to the arena.

Billie Eilish snuggles with a puppy and pony from Brighter Days Dog Rescue and Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary before performing at Ball Arena in Denver on Nov. 19, 2024. (Courtesy of Becca Orin)

Eilish, her mom and team were “amazing,” Orin said, and showered the animals with love – particularly Samson the pony, who was overjoyed by all of the attention and cookies.

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Brighter Days shared photos of the visit in a post on Facebook, with Eilish grinning cheek-to-cheek with a puppy and getting a nuzzle from Samson.

“This is not the first time we have brought animals to Ball Arena for the artists ahead of their performance, but this was the first time the artist was kind enough and generous enough to let us take pictures and give us permission to post them on social media,” Orin said.

Eilish is set to perform a second sold-out show at Ball Arena on Wednesday night as part of her Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour.

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