Nuggets, Timberwolves or Thunder: Who needs the West’s top seed most? | NBA Today Exclusive

Nuggets, Timberwolves or Thunder: Who needs the West’s top seed most? | NBA Today Exclusive

Hey welcome inside our Los Angeles Studios this is NBA today on YouTube this is the extra stuff the bits that we do not get to in the 3:00 hour on ESPN The One and Only Brian windhorse the man who was playing checkers and chess Austin Rivers Kendrick Perkins who we

Need to get a matching shirt because I really just want to see this I’m Malika Andrews they they got a 4X uh they got talk after something in for you B dog but he did say it is a a crop tops we need to something along

Those lines yeah we need to make sure we work on that mid in addition to to talking about mid drips and Austin shirt we spend a lot of time on this show talking about the Western Conference playin but there’s also a race that’s happening at the top of the West between

The Timberwolves the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder for that number one seed when you we we know the Nuggets they’re proven Brian between those other teams is there someone you believe in the most who do you think is the one seed when it’s all said it’s

Going to be Denver I think and not because I think that like they’re dramatically better than teams although they kind of are is because they have the easiest schedule you said that like it’s the secret I feel like far in a I was just trying to be respectful far in

Away they have the easiest schedule and regardless obviously there’s going to be Health situations but Denver is just better positioned to have more wins in the remaining games just very simply and so that’s why I think Denver’s going to get it and you know Denver plays so well

At home they know they’re they’re good on the road they are great almost unbeatable at home they’re going to be incentivized to get it and I think that’s what’s going to happen I agree with you but who needs it is the Minnesota timber wols especially with car Anthony towns being out any

Advantage that could go into their favor they actually need it right I feel like you know Minnesota they they’ve established a place in that home court where it’s a tough environment to play in they have some signature wins there Anthony Edwards feeds off the energy of

The uh crowd and you know you need your role players to play better at home so the Minnesota timberwoods need to finish with the number one spot yeah I agreee with perk um you know we keep looking out the window for all these teams I think okay C’s future is a little bit

You know we talk about longevity all the draft picks they have they got a whole time period now obviously Shay is now so they’re trying to push now and Chad has come on but Minnesota’s timeline is a little bit different you know M Mike connley is an older player obviously no

Carl towns isn’t a rookie Rudy goar isn’t a rookie these guys are veteran basketball players now so I mean this window for them is Win now so any advantage that they can have with the lack of playoff experience coming from their best player without Carl towns I

Think them having a you know home court advantage would be vital um for them and you know I look forward to seeing between them and OKC who can execute in the playoffs we got two teams you know anchored by Young Talent who don’t have playoff experience it’ll be very

Exciting to see and if you’re a Laker fan and I know there’s a couple of them out there you’re watching this kind of closely because you’re trying to Envision how you’re going to chart some sort of path in the in the playoffs like you did last year the Lakers can’t beat the Nuggets

Can’t but Oklahoma City they have some success against three out of four this year they have a certain advantages in that series because of height if you’re a Lakers fan you’re hoping for the Thunder to get that one seed because I think the Lakers are going to be the

Eight n the best they’re going to be able to do is the eight seed and so there’s other implications out there than just those teams at the top I want to stick with the the Timberwolves for just a second though because I think when we think of Anthony Edwards he just

Is endless potential to be a face of this league for years and years to come but it’s interesting to think about the timelines of everybody else on that team and the bill that they are slated to pay if they want to keep this team together

So so what is at stake Brian for the timber wolves first off I don’t even know whether the timberl are going to have new owners the new owners are supposed to complete the sale by the end of March I guess they’ll be able to do that but the new owners are having

Trouble putting the money together to buy the team okay so now you’re asking a franchise that’s having difficulty just making an ownership sale to potentially pay an enormous tax bill starting next year I don’t like it and like they can keep their star players together they don’t have to like trade Anthony Edwards

But they might have to trade Nas Reed and Nas Reed is a very important player to them yes and we haven’t had Clarity from the new owners led by Mark Lori about whether they’re going to be a taxpayer because the current ownership Glen Taylor has almost never paid the

Tax in the last 20 years so the ownership piece of that is almost as important as how they’re going to keep their roster together and I hate to talk about like salary cap machinations you’re looking at a team that’s having their best season in 20 years but it’s

Just the way it is but it’s important because when you talk about the Denver Nuggets you have faith in what this team is what this team has proven and what they we expect them to be at least for this window here with Nicola yic and Jamal Murray OKC like you mentioned they

Have this Runway the Timberwolves it’s not exactly the case yeah no people I think sometimes look at ant and just automatically just throw the whole team but they do have young talent I mean Jaden Jaden McDaniels is a really talented young player as well as Nas

Reed uh but the other key vital pieces to that team that make them this this especially if we’re talking about defense they got the number one defense in the league the biggest part of that is Rudy goar you know what I mean that’s that’s a big deal these guys are in the

Back half of their career so you know it’s uh that timetable is a little bit quicker for them I I want to go back to the Denver Nuggets I don’t feel like they have to have the number one seed to get through the West no no no no I’m not

Saying age with they don’t have to have the number one seed to get through the postseason like yesterday I said it you know on countdown we we Anointed The Boston Celtics for having the best starting five in basketball at the beginning of the season and throughout this season and we totally disrespected

The Denver Nuggets and I’m guilty of that they actually have the best starting five in the NBA because they actually got it done and when you watch this team play Michael Porter Jr looks 100% healthy we haven’t seen him healthy in a long time he has been balling after

The allstar break Carwell pop what he brings to the table don’t get talked about enough we know the big big if you want to call it tangible that you know connection that joic and and Aaron Gordon has and Jamal Murray being in my opinion the second I mean the best uh

Robin or a second best player in the league because when it comes to uh meaningful minutes and and that meaningful moment he rises to the occasion like no other well and you said there was a time where you were leaning towards Jason Tatum as your MVP your

Criteria was your best player on the best team now are you leaning towards Nichol you know how much you know how much weight it takes to knock me off my Square yic type weight not not like yic type weight and he has knocked me off my

Box right I was always going when it comes down to the MVP best player with the best record and he has completely changed my mindset that’s how powerful he’s been in his play what he’s done after the allstar break throughout the course of this season and right now not

Only is he the best player in the league but he’s the MVP front runner I think the MVP order should be Shay in my opinion you look at OKC’s team they’re sure they’re talented but they’re very young for him to be anchoring this team he scores 30 every single night not to

Mention he’s leading the league in uh steals he’s playing on both sides of the basketball up to six assists on the year if you look at his numbers versus yage they’re they’re more impressive down the line with the exception of percentages but that’s because yic takes different

Shot you know he lives in the paint we look at the way Shay closes games and the way he shreds every Defender it’s like Brunson but like on like on acid I mean he’s like at different level he run but 6’5 and athletic you know this dude

For me that’s not the metaphor I thought you were going to go no I know I I I think I think Shay just especially small small town man small Market I mean all those things man I like Shay as the MVP I really do it it’s hard for me Nik yic

Is inevitable so it’s hard for me to like say anything but expect the Nuggets if everybody stays healthy to win the west and no matter what SE they can I just make one request if Nica yic wins a third MVP that whenever they do the the video tribute or for the that it’s

Unrelenting the lightning is coming when he comes out and when he runs down the hallway and does that that that’s my only request for that and he’s right yeah he’s right the lightning is yeah the lightning and the the yeah I was going to say the the Thunder might need

To wait because the lightning is coming from the top of the West is going to be something we’re going to be watching over these next couple of weeks because as our friend Kendrick Perkins says the playoffs particularly in the Western Conference they really have already started that’s going to do for us NBA

Today on YouTube you can catch us at 3:00 Eastern on ESPN for now signing off we’ll see you [Applause] [Applause] there

In this NBA Today YouTube Exclusive, I speak with Austin Rivers, Kendrick Perkins and Brian Windhorst about the chances of the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder to secure the top seed in the Western Conference and debate which team needs it most.

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