There’s a Shootout in the Wild, Wild West!!!

Watch out, folks, and keep your heads down; for there’s a kill-or-be-killed, lose-and-you’re-gone shootout in the NBA’s wild Western Conference. The defending champions Denver Nuggets have been dragged into a mad and messy maulfest against a disrespecting young lot from the Minnesota Timberwolves, with their 2nd round playoff series heading for a climactic winner-take-all Game 7.

It has been an epic battle of ebbs and flows, with the upstart Twolves taking the first 2 games in Denver with scores of 106-99 and a lopsided 106-80. With the next 2 games in their homecourt, Twolves fans were already chanting ‘Sweep, sweep, sweep’. But that was before the Nuggets came roaring back with 3 consecutive convincing beatdowns 117-90, 115-107 and 112-97. The last would finally break the homecourt jinx that had characterized the first 4 games, leading to embarrassing homecourt losses. With the score reversed now at 3-2, and the Nuggets poised to clinch a spot in the Western Conference Finals, Nuggets coach Mike Malone promptly quoted the late great coach Rudy Tomjanovich, whose epic come-from-behind win from an ominous 0-3 slate in the 80s had popularized the thought: “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”

With their backs against the wall, and with the momentum clearly on the side of the Nuggets, the Twolves were now the clear underdogs for Game 6. But instead of simply lying down and die, the Twolves would wake up from their stupor, fight back ferociously, and come out victorious with a most shocking 115-70 massacre of sorts. Not only did they survive elimination, they had done so with such authority and aplomb to send the Vegas bookies in a frenzy. The 45-point margin was so emphatic, it broke so many NBA playoff records. It was, among others, the second largest playoff winning margin for a team facing elimination. It also regained for the Twolves the confidence and the swagger that characterized their play in Games 1 and 2.

So what’s in store for us in Game 7 then? What happened in the previous games with the huge disparity in the scores? Does the much-vaunted homecourt advantage still exist? What would be the key elements for each side in order for them to take the series, and move on to the Western Conference Finals?

For starters, throw out the homecourt advantage for this series. The visiting team has won 4 of the 6 games played, and by comfortable margins, making the homecourt … a disadvantage?

For the Nuggets, the most important factor would be Jamal Murray’s health condition. After scoring 2 game-winners in their first round series against the LA Lakers, Jamal has been sadly saddled with a succession of injuries, making his play dip, and totally disrupting the team’s offensive flow. Jamal’s current elbow injury will be a major concern for Game 7. The stat sheets tell us that he needs to score a minimum of 19 points in order to have a fighting chance in this crucial game.

The other big factor is, of course, the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. Nikola took over Game 5 with monster figures of 40 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds. If he regains that dominating funk, if Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns are unable to shut off his offensive output, then it will be goodbye for the Wolves. Nikola will need to take over the offensive load once again, with the help hopefully of Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr, to keep their title-retention dreams alive.

For the Twolves, the player that has always been under the radar but has been a key to their successes this season is Michael Conley. The veteran guard has been the team’s offense stabilizer, distributing the ball; finding the holes, the gaps in the Nuggets’ defense; and getting everyone to calm down and focus on the job at hand. Mike’s veteran savvy was what this young playoff team needed to get it to spots it had never reached before. Anthony Edwards said it without hesitation after that crucial game: Mike was the big difference in nailing Game 6.

Karl Anthony Towns was also a big pillar for the Wolves. Apart from contributing on the offensive end, he collaborated with their defensive hub, Rudy Gobert, as well as NBA 6th Man of the Year, Naz Reid, in keeping Jokic in check in Games 1 and 2, as well as in Game 6. If they can continue to make Nikola’s life under the basket miserable, then half of the game is won.

But in taking a closer scrutiny over the team’s potential as a serious crown contender, we must take a serious look at that upcoming star, Anthony Edwards. Ant is averaging 29.7 points and 5.5 assists, aside from contributing in disrupting the Nuggets’ offense. Ant’s numbers, as well as that swagger that belies a well-developed confidence in himself, are close to Jordanesque. He, like Nikola for the Nuggets, can carry the Twolves to the promised land.

So who do you think has the upperhand here? The defending champs have the homecourt, they have the championship experience, they have maturity. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, have the athleticism, the speed, the aggressiveness. It’s the old vs the new, maturity versus talent. At this point, it should be anybody’s ballgame, folks…. and I’m betting on the Wolves to win it this time! Who you got?

Cover photo courtesy of NBA.com. Other photos courtesy of NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, Cannis Hoopus, Al Jazeera, Essentially Sports, Hardwood Heroics and The Denver Post. For a closer look, just click on the pics.