Timberwolves' control over Nuggets does Spurs fans a huge favor

When the Spurs lost their final game of the regular season to the Nuggets, they were either questioned or outright scolded by fans and sports media. Apparently, San Antonio should be afraid of Denver, so doing everything in their power to knock Nikola Jokic to the other side of the playoff bracket should have been the priority ahead of ensuring the health of Victor Wembanyama.

Well, they don't look all powerful to me. The Timberwolves just took control of their first-round meeting, going up 2-1 after winning the last two straight. Anthony Edwards hasn't even been his usual supernatural self. Yet, Minnesota is managing to look like the better of the two teams the majority of the time they spend on the floor together.

The reality of where the Spurs and Nuggets find themselves serves as a reminder not to look past the opening round. Being "favored" guarantees you nothing. A playoff series can turn quickly and be over before you know it. Unfortunately for Denver, the mountain they're tasked with climbing is much steeper than San Antonio's.

The Spurs are much more likely to advance than the Nuggets

There's a stark difference between what's happening to the higher-seeded ball clubs in their respective matchups. The Spurs are tied 1-1 with Portland because they missed free throws and open three-pointers and didn't crash the defensive glass hard enough (not to mention some horrendous officiating).

Aside from the bad refereeing job, these are correctable issues. Getting Wembanyama back in the lineup is inevitable, and whether that be in Game 3 or 4, San Antonio's talent will eventually overwhelm the inferior Trail Blazers.

The Nuggets have a different problem on their hands. The Timberwolves don't look like the inferior team. Rudy Gobert has been making life miserable for Jokic, and Jaden McDaniels just backed up some of the biggest postseason trash talk we've had in the playoffs in a long time.

The Nuggets are in familiar territory that Spurs fans will recognize

Minnesota won the first quarter 25-11 and followed it up with a 38-28 second period. They looked faster and more athletic than Denver, and that's because they are. That can be more than enough to swing a series. San Antonio has experience with that.

In the early 2010s, the Spurs were defeated in the first and second rounds consecutively because they were outmatched athletically. When they drafted Kawhi Leonard a year after adding Danny Green, San Antonio went to three straight conference finals and two NBA Finals.

The Nuggets are in that era right now. Their team is talented, but they don't have the athletic tangibles to match, and it's going to cost them. If Minnesota keeps up the pace and aggression, there isn't much Denver can do to counter them, and the Joker will be headed for an early vacation. With Aaron Gordon battling injuries again, that looks like an increasingly likely outcome.

A Timberwolves win would completely erase the narrative that the Spurs made some sort of misstep or "stupid decision" to end the year. The players and coaches won't care about the criticism. They're confident they can beat anyone.

Let's be real, though—fans enjoy listening to sports media when their teams are doing well. But nobody wants to hear about how stupid their team is for not dodging an inferior opponent. That's the reality Minnesota is saving Spurs Nation from.

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