After the Nuggets won the championship last year, Jokic said that the most difficult round of the series was not the Western Conference finals against the Lakers, nor the Suns, who played 6 games, but the first round against the Timberwolves. Although the score is 4-1, it is true that the consumption of each game is very large, and the Timberwolves' twin towers inside make Mr. Yoo feel the pressure. And in the offseason, the Timberwolves renewed Reid's contract, and fans ridiculed them for building an "anti-Jokic armor." Now, the Nuggets are second in the West and the Timberwolves are third, and the two teams are in the same half of the region, so they are very likely to meet.
However, the Timberwolves got past the Suns first, and in the regular season, the Timberwolves were swept 3-0 by the Suns, especially in the last 2 games, which directly sent the Suns to sixth in the West, and also let themselves fall to the third place in the West, becoming an unavoidable opponent. Of course, the intensity of the playoffs and the regular season is completely different, which of them has the advantage?
Point guard: Conley vs Beal
In fact, the Suns' starters have no point guard at all, Booker is the star of the house, and the label is a point guard, so Bill is temporarily placed on the point guard. Although Beal's contract is seriously premium, but only in terms of strength, it is far from being comparable to Conley, the ceiling of the two is different, Bill used to be a master of scoring, and he also had continuous explosive performances at the end of the season, once he entered the state, he was a superstar.
得分后卫：爱德华兹VS布克
The new generation of superstars against the superstars of the Mesozoic generation, who was selected for a while, also led the team to the Finals to prove himself, even in the playoffs, he can maintain a strong scoring ability, Edwards on the offensive end, is still slightly worse than Booker. But Edwards is more physically gifted, explosive, and can score more kills, while also playing better on the defensive end. Overall, the strength of the two is half a pound.
Small forward: McDaniels vs Allen
In terms of height and size, Allen is a complete disadvantage, but he did start all three games against the Timberwolves, because Booker and Beal are both guards, and he can only play small forward. But luckily, McDaniels isn't the type of player who has a lot of ball-handling ability and doesn't put too much pressure on Allen. At the same time, Allen's mobility and accurate three-point shooting will cause a lot of trouble for the Timberwolves, in the previous three games, Allen scored 14 points, 23 points, and 20 points respectively, and his ability is still stronger.
Power forward: Towns vs Durant
Even a healthy Towns is just an ordinary All-Star player, and he can't be compared with Durant, not to mention that Towns is now recovering from a major injury, his playing time will be limited, and his performance in the two games of his comeback is not good, with only 11 and 10 points scored. And even if Durant has dropped a lot, he can still score 27.1 points in the regular season, which is higher than anyone on the Timberwolves team.
Center: Gobert vs Nurkic
In terms of statistics, Gobert had 14 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.1 blocks, shooting 66.1%, and Nurkic had 10.9 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.1 blocks, shooting 51%. In addition to assists, Gobert is more than Nurkic in every way, especially since he is also a favorite to be the best defensive player.
Sixth man: Reed vs O'Neal
Reed is one of the Sixth Man of the Year nominees, averaging 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and has had a good run as a starter during Towns' injury. O'Neal joined the Suns halfway through, and his defense and three-point shooting are what the team needs, as well as some setter ability to capitalize on the opportunities created by the Big Three. Of course, compared to Reed, O'Neill is slightly worse.
In the 6 positions, the Timberwolves have the advantage of the center and the sixth man, the scoring guard is tied, the Suns are the point guard, the small forward and the big forward are dominant, after all, it is the configuration of the Big Three, and the Suns are very strong in terms of book strength. At the same time, the Timberwolves' defensive performance is difficult to work for the Suns, they mainly defend the restricted area and three-pointers, but the Suns' Big Three are all good at mid-range shooting, so in terms of lineup play, the Timberwolves are indeed restrained. But then again, the outcome is still to be known, and it is related to the deployment of the coach, the state of the players and other factors. Which team will make the cut?