Two Kentucky basketball stars collide in Minnesota vs. Denver series
Jamal Murray vs. Karl-Anthony Towns.
Although they never played together at UK (they were one year apart as one-and-dones), this is arguably the most entertaining Kentucky vs. Kentucky matchup of the first round. Both are prominent players on their respective teams.
Murray’s Nuggets come in as the 1-seed. After an ACL injury scratched his entire 2021-22 season, Murray hasn’t missed much of a beat, averaging 20.0 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 4.0 RPG during the regular season. He and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic will look to guide the Nuggets playoff hopes which could eventually end in the NBA Finals.
On the other side with the Timberwolves, is KAT. His numbers went down to the lowest PPG totals since his rookie year, but that’s what happens when you’re on a playoff team sharing the court with a few other stars.
KAT is still one of the two top scorers on the Timberwolves, trailing only Anthony Edwards in that department. He also missed a huge chunk of games with an injury, but returned on March 22. Since then, Minnesota is 5-3 in games where Towns has played
While Minnesota are underdogs, Towns, Edwards and Rudy Gobert have the chance to make it an interesting series.
This series should also be interesting because both Towns and Murray are getting past serious injuries with eyes on a playoff run. It starts this Sunday night:
- Game 1: Timberwolves at Nuggets, Apr. 16, 10:30 p.m. on TNT
- Game 2: Timberwolves at Nuggets, Apr. 19, 10 p.m. on TNT
- Game 3: Nuggets at Timberwolves, Apr. 21, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 4: Nuggets at Timberwolves, Apr. 23, 9:30 p.m. on TNT
- Game 5: Timberwolves at Nuggets, Apr. 25, TBD
- Game 6: Nuggets at Timberwolves, Apr. 27, TBD
- Game 7: Timberwolves at Nuggets, Apr. 29, TBD on TNT
Now let’s root for our Kentucky basketball Wildcats in the NBA Playoffs!