Series Picks, Predictions, Schedule & Odds for Timberwolves vs Nuggets
By Sascha Paruk in NBA Basketball
Published:
- The #3 Nuggets and #6 Timberwolves will meet in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs
- Denver and its league-best offense is a heavy favorite to advance
- See my top Nuggets vs Timberwolves series picks and predictions, plus the odds and schedule
The #3 Denver Nuggets (54-28, 28-13 home, 26-15 away, 44-38 ATS) will square off with the #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (48-33, 15-15 home, 23-18 away, 36-46 ATS) in a best-of-seven first-round series in the 2026 NBA playoff bracket.
This will mark the third time in four years Minnesota and Denver have met in the postseason. The Nuggets won (4-1) in 2023 while the T-wolves took a 4-2 series victory in 2024.
Denver is a heavy favorite to advance to the second round in the 2026 edition.
Nuggets vs Timberwolves Series Odds
The prices at prediction site Kalshi have the Nuggets trading at 77¢ to win the series, which is equal to a -335 moneyline. The T-wolves are trading at 25¢ (equal to a +300 moneyline).
The game spread at DraftKings lists Denver -1.5 games at -135 and Minnesota +1.5 games at +110. The total-games market is identical: over 5.5 games is priced at -135 with under 5.5 games at +115.
DEN vs MIN Playoff Series Schedule
Only the first game of the series has been scheduled so far. Game 1 will go at Ball Arena in Denver this Saturday, April 18, at 3:40 pm ET. Amazon Prime will have the exclusive broadcast rights.
MIN vs DEN Team Stats
Denver finished with the best O-Rating in the entire NBA at 121.2. The Timberwolves were better than Denver on defense (112.5 vs 116.0) but their inefficient attack left them well behind in overall Net Rating (DEN +5.2 vs MIN +3.1).
Nuggets vs T-wolves Regular-Season Results
The Nuggets largely dominated the season series, winning and covering the first three (including two in Minnesota) before the T-wolves got one back in early March.
DEN Nuggets vs MIN Timberwolves Series Picks
- Timberwolves +1.5 Games (+110) at DraftKings
The T-wolves have been one of the most-disappointing teams for bettors all season. They finished with an abysmal 36-46 ATS record (43.9% cover rate). They still have all the pieces to make a deep run in the postseason, though, especially if Anthony Edwards’ knee holds up. The Minnesota All-Star has only played two games in April while managing knee pain but there’s no structural damage and I don’t expect him to miss any time in the playoffs.
Minnesota went 5-2 SU at home in the 2025 postseason, while Denver is just 5-7 SU away from home in the last two playoffs (2-5 last year). In the 2024-25 regular season, Minnesota went 4-0 against Denver with a fairly similar roster makeup.
Plus-money odds to force a Game 7 undervalues the Timberwolves.
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Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.