Anthony Edwards has been cutting down NBA greats for a calendar year. Could Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be next?
All of the traditional franchises are on the golf course or the beach or back to the drawing board. In their place, the Western Conference will be decided by a pair of teams with one combined NBA Finals appearance to their history. Well, they’ll double that number in roughly two weeks.
Such a transition was inevitable, and the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves arrive thirsty and restless at the conference finals. Most important, they’re bringing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards, the flag bearers for the next generation of stars. They’re very likely to arm-wrestle for the Magic Johnson trophy, given annually to the most outstanding player of the Western Conference Finals.
The Wolves managed a 2-2 split with OKC during the regular season, impressive given OKC won 68 times. Gilgeous-Alexander had scoring outputs of 37, 39 and 40 in three of the four; but here in the playoffs, there tend to be adjustments.
So it’s a series, then. Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels join Edwards to compete against Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and Chet Holmgren. Shai will compete against his cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker. This should be good.
Series schedule
Here’s how to watch the Thunder vs. Timberwolves series:
All times Eastern Standard Time
- Game 1: Timberwolves vs. Thunder; Tuesday, May 20 (8:30 ET, ESPN)
- Game 2: Timberwolves vs. Thunder; Thursday, May 22 (8:30 ET, ESPN)
- Game 3: Thunder vs. Timberwolves; Saturday, May 24 (8:30 ET, ABC)
- Game 4: Thunder vs. Timberwolves; Monday, May 26 (8:30 ET, ESPN)
- Game 5: Timberwolves vs. Thunder; Wednesday, May 28 (8:30 ET, ESPN)*
- Game 6: Thunder vs. Timberwolves; Friday, May 30 (8:30 ET, ESPN)*
- Game 7: Timberwolves vs. Thunder; Sunday, June 1 (8 ET, ESPN)*
* = If necessary
Top storyline
Young stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards face off in Western Conference Finals.
Edwards collecting skins. When’s the last time a star this young was this driven to conquer the superstars of the game? Mounted on the wall of his home are the heads of generational greats — Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokić, LeBron James, Luka Dončić and oh look, fresh from the taxidermist, Stephen Curry.
Those are the players toppled by Edwards over the last calendar year in the playoffs. Next up, Shai? That might be the tallest order for Edwards, because the Thunder PG brings more help than most if not all of those others. Besides – as everyone should be aware – he’s also pretty good.
This contest within the contest promises plenty of energy and chest-beating if only because Edwards and Shai bring plenty of pride. They want to be the best, the face of the NBA. This series could help decide who is and who ain’t.
Keep your eyes on
Defense, defense, defense. If you enjoy or at least appreciate double-teams, quick rotations, rim protection and on-ball pressure, then this series if for you. Because these are the two remaining teams in this postseason that do it best. The safest prediction is the Western Conference finals will not develop into a bucket brigade and nobody will drop 130-plus points.
That doesn’t mean Shai or Edwards or Randle won’t peel off a 30-piece once or twice. Those three are on a roll and it’s hard to keep a boot on good offensive creativity for long. It does mean those scorers will work for most if not all of their points. They will be earned, not given.
OKC was top-rated all season defensively while defense is what Minnesota does best. The Timberwolves will also try to control the pace. First team to 100 wins. Well: OK – 115.
1 more thing to watch for each team
For Thunder. This represents a homecoming for Holmgren, pride of Minneapolis where he was born and raised. When he was 6-foot-9 and as thick as spaghetti, Holmgren averaged 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds as a high school freshman. Since then, his height and stats have grown, if not his bulk.
He can be a problem for the Wolves with his wingspan, ability to stretch the floor, quickness and rim protection. And mostly his motivation to show out for the neighborhood. If there’s an X-factor for the Thunder, pencil in the guy shaped like a pencil. Holmgren is looking to take a leap.
Julius Randle steps up with 29 points and Minnesota ousts Golden State 121-110 in Game 5 to return to the West Finals.
For Timberwolves. Randle is having the best stretch of his career, all things considered. He hasn’t been the Wolves’ best player in these playoffs but certainly the most important. Because without his steady postseason production — 23.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.9 rebounds through 10 games — Minnesota doesn’t get this far.
So here in this first postseason for Minnesota, it’s a win-win, not only for the Wolves but for Randle. He has effectively cleansed himself of previous playoff sins; either too injured or too ineffective to help his previous team, the Knicks. Those fans never let him forget it. As for Wolves fans? They’re howling at him in a different way. Music to his ears.
1 key number to know
8.7 — The Thunder have outscored their opponents by 8.7 points per game in the restricted area, the best restricted-area differential in the playoffs. That includes a 54-32 advantage in their Game 7 win over the Nuggets on Sunday.
The Oklahoma City defense is best known for forcing turnovers, but it was also the best rim protection defense in the regular season. In road games*, the Thunder ranked first in the (lowest) percentage of their opponents’ shots (23%) that came in the restricted area and second in opponent field goal percentage (63.1%) in the restricted area. Both of those numbers have been lower in the postseason.
* Looking at road games only accounts for shot-location discrepancies from arena to arena.
The Wolves have the second-best restricted-area differential in the playoffs, having outscored their opponents by 7.4 points per game at the basket. That includes a 62-30 advantage as they closed out the Warriors in Game 5 of the conference semis. A little less than 33% of the Wolves’ shots, the highest rate in the postseason, have come in the restricted area.
The league is shooting more 3-pointers than ever, but the best shots on the floor remain those at the rim. And that’s where this battle will begin.
–John Schuhmann
The pick
Thunder in six. Both teams are qualified to have a date with destiny: OKC because it won 68 games and brings an MVP candidate, Minnesota because it’s the hottest team in the West. That said, the Wolves’ starting five will need to bring their A-games every night – their depth doesn’t compare. OKC will wear you down and eventually wear you out.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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