'You just got to battle him': Wolves' next tough task is guarding Nuggets' Jokic

This time around, they'll have to do it without Karl-Anthony Towns.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, right, and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, left, defend Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the first half in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series at Ball Arena in Denver on May 19, 2024. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Last season’s grueling seven-game Western Conference semifinal series against the Denver Nuggets reaffirmed to Timberwolves coach Chris Finch that Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic is “almost unguardable.” 

“You have to pick your poison with him,” Finch said of Jokic. 

Finch’s Timberwolves, who boasted the top-ranked defense in the NBA a season ago, were able to defend Jokic, a three-time MVP, well enough to win the series in seven games and reach the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2004. But when the Timberwolves host the Nuggets for their first regular-season matchup of the new season at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Target Center, they’ll be without one of the key pieces of last year's defensive effort in Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns was arguably the Timberwolves' MVP in that series. He was often used as the primary defender on Jokic, though Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid played key roles in the effort as well. Jokic still put up 203 points in the seven-game series (29.0 points per game) and shot 52% from the field and 23% from 3-point range. But just 59 of those points came when Towns was the primary defender, and the shooting numbers dropped to 44% from the field and 19% from 3.

On Friday, the responsibility of guarding Jokic will fall on a combination of Gobert, Reid and Julius Randle, whom the Wolves acquired along with Donte DiVincenzo in the trade that sent Towns to the New York Knicks.

"It takes a lot of guys to guard (Jokic). You got to guard him a lot of different ways," Finch said, likening it to how you have to guard Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. "... Try to get him as off balance as you possibly can, but those guys have seen it all and they've been able to kind of unlock a lot of different things. So you just got to battle him.

"Last year, we had great size to do so. You know, (Randle) is not quite the length (Towns) is, but he's got the physicality, I think, to be able to go against him. You know, (Reid) does a really good job with his activity, so each one of our bigs has a different thing that they can do to try and affect him, but ultimately, it's a team commitment."

Reid offers a similar skillset to Towns and has been showcasing his defensive versatility this season by playing both the four and the five. The Wolves will be throwing different defensive looks at Jokic, but it will be interesting to see whether they'll look to utilize Reid in a similar capacity as they used Towns last postseason. Reid noted that he plays a similar role as Towns and knows he'll have to step up and fill those minutes. Reid's guarded Jokic in the past, so it's not new territory.

"(Jokic has) good touch, moves his body well, is a great passer as everybody knows, so kind of just making quick decisions with him, trying to beat him to his spots," Reid said.

The Nuggets and Wolves both enter Friday's game with 2-2 records, and both should have full juice having had Wednesday off. There will be no shortage of intrigue when they tip off at 8:30 p.m. in a game televised on ESPN.