"Nikola Jokic going to make mincemeat of Rudy Gobert": Shannon Sharpe drops bold predictions ahead of Timberwolves vs Nuggets round 2 playoffs

The upcoming matchup between Rudy Gobert's Minnesota Timberwolves and the defending champion Denver Nuggets is the first confirmed conference semifinals in this year's playoffs. These two teams achieved a near-identical regular season record and cruised through their first-round matchups.

First Take's Shannon Sharpe believes that this clash will be a close one and both teams will exchange blows all the way to seven games. However, regardless of how long it takes, he thinks the defending champions have the edge.

[03:08] "I'm going to take the Nuggets three best players over the Minnesota Timberwolves three best players," Sharpe said. "With that being said, I believe it's going to be a long series. I believe it's gonna be six, it's gonna be seven games.

"I'll take the Nuggets," Sharpe added. "I'm taking the Nuggets because I think Ant-man and Jamal Murray can play to a standstill. Karl-Anthony Towns is gonna have to have the series of his life because Nikola Jokic is the real deal. He's going to make mincemeat of Rudy Gobert."

Sharpe added that Rudy Gobert will have such a hard time stopping Nikola Jokic from doing his thing that we are going to witness the first-ever 30-30-10 triple-double in the NBA playoffs.

The Wolves and the Nuggets battled each other in last year's playoffs as well. However, that was in the first round, with the Wolves coming in as the eighth seed and losing in five games.

This season, the Nuggets finished with just one win over the Wolves with a 57-25 record. They also entered the postseason as the second and third seeds, respectively.

These two teams also split their four-game regular season series with two wins each.

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Jamal Murray tells hilarious story of Nikola Jokic trash-talking Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert is considered an elite shot-blocker and paint defender as evidenced by his three Defensive Player of the Year awards.

However, he needs to adjust his game when playing against Nikola Jokic, who does more than just score in the paint. Jokic can hurt defenses with his court vision and reliable perimeter game, making him a nightmare to guard for defenders like Gobert.

The French center had one such nightmare game against the Joker when the former was still with the Utah Jazz, as told by Jamal Murray.

According to Murray, the Jazz tried to send defensive help for Gobert to stop Jokic. Gobert waved off this help, saying that he didn't need it. At this point, Jokic responded by telling Gobert, "brother, I have 47."

The game that Murray was talking about happened on Jan. 31, 2021. Gobert was ineffective in stopping Nikola Jokic, who finished the game with 47 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. He also shot 17-for-26 from the field and 4-for-4 from three. The Nuggets won that game 128-117.

Meanwhile, Gobert had one block, eight rebounds and 12 points.