ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Predicts Massive NBA Playoff Series Upset

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith doesn't believe Minnesota's Game 1 victory over the Denver Nuggets was a fluke. He's expecting Anthony Edwards to continue his dominance and lead the Timberwolves past the defending champs.

Edwards dropped 43 points on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in Minnesota's 106-99 Game 1 victory. In the days since the 22-year-old superstar has drawn comparisons to Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant.

If Edwards really is the next face of the NBA, he has a chance to prove it now in this NBA Playoff series. To take down Nikola Jokic and the defending champs is a daunting task that, if Edwards accomplishes it, will have the NBA world buzzing.

Smith doesn't believe the Timberwolves' Game 1 win was a fluke. He's predicting Minnesota to win the NBA Playoff series over the Nuggets.

"I'm just of the mindset that Minnesota's gonna win this series," Smith told Shannon Sharpe during Monday's episode of First Take .

"I'm not gonna go so far to say they're going to the Finals, even though I think there's a pretty good chance of them doing it."

Smith highlights two key points as to why he thinks the Timberwolves will take down the Nuggets. First, Edwards is averaging 33.5 points per game in five postseason games vs. Denver. Second, Minnesota has the size, thanks to Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, to give the Nuggets a big challenge.

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Game 2 is Monday night at 10 p.m. ET on TNT. Will Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves take a 2-0 series lead?