2025 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (OKC leads 3-1)

[bluemj32]

Ant might just not have it. Small hands and lack of agility and lack of skill.


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He'll be fine, he's young, he's very competitive and now has two WCF appearances under his belt at 23.

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Yeah no pressure yet to win it all because he's very young. However, he has older teammates (Gobert and Conley) and that adds a different dynamic moving forward. You can say that this is the most complete team the Wolves have since he's been there so it's crucial that Minnesota find replacements for them (especially for Conley) and also, evaluate what to do with Randle and Reid's contracts...

Very true of the vets

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[levon]

Listening to JDubb speak...he's so mature and well spoken.

So basically OKC is more talented, deeper, smarter, and more poised than any other team.

The league is cooked.

They could very well win in this year but not dynastic enough methinks, more because of the parity in the league. We've seen the same reactions when the Bucks and Nuggets won their titles. IT IS difficult to win back to back titles and even moreso, establish a dynasty.

Congrats to the Thunder for winning the title this year though. They deserve it.

True, the new CBA makes dynasties incredibly difficult to achieve. OKC is better positioned than any other to navigate those cap challenges with their war chest of assets tho.

I think they have to draft and replace players that get priced out though. That's difficult to do continuously because the draft is a luck game and championship formulae can be fickle.

[Wingy]

Ant might just not have it. Small hands and lack of agility and lack of skill.


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He'll be fine, he's young, he's very competitive and now has two WCF appearances under his belt at 23.

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I’m not a fan, but jfc. Maybe he’ll never win, but there are tons of stars who took longer than 5 years into their career to win a ring. Namely, Mike and Lebron.

I literally made this same damn post and more detailed follow ups when people were freaking out on SGA during the Denver series.

[CobraCommander]

OKC postgame interview so gay lol

[karmew32]

Scary thing is the road for him to get back here is going to get harder.

The West has some young teams that are coming

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He started playing basketball late if I'm not mistaken, and boy does it show. The good news his only problem is decisionmaking, the bad news is your athleticism doesn't wait around for you to figure out the game.

Wolves have had an extremely strong supporting cast around him these past 3 years. You compare them to OKC right now and it is a quite narrow talent gap. Last year the Wolves were the closest rival to Boston when it came to depth of talent, and they should have put Dallas away. The year before they dealt with injuries and weren't a mature team but still had a ton of talent on the roster.

But I feel like this run of the past few years is going to represent the most talent the Wolves can fit around Antman. They really built him a very strong squad. It is going to be extremely expensive to retain all of this talent going beyond this year (which is a big part of why they traded KAT).

Last year really was the year for the Wolves to get it done. They were more talented & experienced than the Mavs but lost both of the first 2 home games by a combined 4 points, almost singlehandedly because of rookie Dereck Lively.

KAT may not be the most consistent playoff performer, but no way does he put up a single-digit stinker in the biggest game of his career (and arguably the biggest in franchise history).

[Marvel]

Ant Man - Crap Man. He just doesn't have the elite talent to be that guy.

[CobraCommander]

Is Caruso the real mvp- this dude is Rodman on the best big, Kukoc when you need a bucket and Harper when you need to settle down the team and get the ball
To jdub of sga

[TheGOATRises007]

He started playing basketball late if I'm not mistaken, and boy does it show. The good news his only problem is decisionmaking, the bad news is your athleticism doesn't wait around for you to figure out the game.

Wolves have had an extremely strong supporting cast around him these past 3 years. You compare them to OKC right now and it is a quite narrow talent gap. Last year the Wolves were the closest rival to Boston when it came to depth of talent, and they should have put Dallas away. The year before they dealt with injuries and weren't a mature team but still had a ton of talent on the roster.

But I feel like this run of the past few years is going to represent the most talent the Wolves can fit around Antman. They really built him a very strong squad. It is going to be extremely expensive to retain all of this talent going beyond this year (which is a big part of why they traded KAT).

Last year really was the year for the Wolves to get it done. They were more talented & experienced than the Mavs but lost both of the first 2 home games by a combined 4 points, almost singlehandedly because of rookie Dereck Lively.

KAT may not be the most consistent playoff performer, but no way does he put up a single-digit stinker in the biggest game of his career (and arguably the biggest in franchise history).

KAT was the main reason they lost vs Dallas last year.

[rolling_91]

OKC basically said we’re going to take Ant and Randle out of the game tonight and we will live with what we give up everywhere else. Well McDaniels, DiVincenso, NAW, Conelly and Reid were up to the challenge and knocked down shots. It would have been enough on most nights but OKC got big games out of Jdub and Holmgren to support SGA and that helped them overcome the flamethrowing from the Twolves bench.

You wondered if all of the 3s would get OKC out of their approach but in the end, Daigneault’s long play was correct. Ant and Randle had no rhythm in the crunch and couldn’t score on crucial possessions.

But besides the turnovers, it was a very respectable performance from Minnnesota. They win that game on most nights.

[CobraCommander]

That Luka vs sga thread better be real quiet tonight - 40-9 and 10 with SGA getting hacked and playing good defense

[CobraCommander]

OKC basically said we’re going to take Ant and Randle out of the game tonight and we will live with what we give up everywhere else. Well McDaniels, DiVincenso, NAW, Conelly and Reid were up to the challenge and knocked down shots. It would have been enough on most nights but OKC got big games out of Jdub and Holmgren to support SGA and that helped them overcome the flamethrowing from the Twolves bench.

You wondered if all of the 3s would get OKC out of their approach but in the end, Daigneault’s long play was correct. Ant and Randle had no rhythm in the crunch and couldn’t score on crucial possessions.

But besides the turnovers, it was a very respectable performance from Minnnesota. They win that game on most nights.

Ant took himself out the game - it’s like he doesn’t want he the face of the league

Keep having these games and he won’t have to worry about it

His boys stepped up and he stepped out

[lethalizer]

And Caruso gets away with Murder and SGA gets whatever he wants despite every other superstar getting no whistles comparable at all in the league. Congrats, you'll get your league-endorsed chip this year.

You nailed it. NBA chasing that TV money by elevating Oklahoma.

Hey man, you deserve it. It's been too long. Your freethrow merchant will lead you to the promised land. Hopefully your stacked team gets disbanded afterward and they change some rules so this BS never happens again lol.

Please keep posting, this is hilarious to read.

Also calling Shai a free throw merchant while being a Knick fan is incredibly funny, but you probably already know that.

[CobraCommander]

Those AI post games gonna be nice tonight

[MN7725]

Scary thing is the road for him to get back here is going to get harder.

The West has some young teams that are coming

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He started playing basketball late if I'm not mistaken, and boy does it show. The good news his only problem is decisionmaking, the bad news is your athleticism doesn't wait around for you to figure out the game.

Wolves have had an extremely strong supporting cast around him these past 3 years. You compare them to OKC right now and it is a quite narrow talent gap. Last year the Wolves were the closest rival to Boston when it came to depth of talent, and they should have put Dallas away. The year before they dealt with injuries and weren't a mature team but still had a ton of talent on the roster.

But I feel like this run of the past few years is going to represent the most talent the Wolves can fit around Antman. They really built him a very strong squad. It is going to be extremely expensive to retain all of this talent going beyond this year (which is a big part of why they traded KAT).

Wolves have horrible PG play, easily the worst PG rotation of playoff teams each of the last two years

[PushDaRock]

Minnesota wasted the best bench performance you will probably see for the entire playoffs. 64 points on 33 shots is incredible.

OKC in 5 looks like a good bet right now

[Castle Black]

He started playing basketball late if I'm not mistaken, and boy does it show. The good news his only problem is decisionmaking, the bad news is your athleticism doesn't wait around for you to figure out the game.

Wolves have had an extremely strong supporting cast around him these past 3 years. You compare them to OKC right now and it is a quite narrow talent gap. Last year the Wolves were the closest rival to Boston when it came to depth of talent, and they should have put Dallas away. The year before they dealt with injuries and weren't a mature team but still had a ton of talent on the roster.

But I feel like this run of the past few years is going to represent the most talent the Wolves can fit around Antman. They really built him a very strong squad. It is going to be extremely expensive to retain all of this talent going beyond this year (which is a big part of why they traded KAT).

Wolves have horrible PG play, easily the worst PG rotation of playoff teams each of the last two years

Yup. Conley has been crap the better part of this series. He's old and washed at almost 38. He's an inefficient chucker these days. They badly need a productive PG who can actually contribute consistently. Get them into their sets, calm them down during tight games on the road, hit open 3's, etc.

[DrModesty]

He started playing basketball late if I'm not mistaken, and boy does it show. The good news his only problem is decisionmaking, the bad news is your athleticism doesn't wait around for you to figure out the game.

Wolves have had an extremely strong supporting cast around him these past 3 years. You compare them to OKC right now and it is a quite narrow talent gap. Last year the Wolves were the closest rival to Boston when it came to depth of talent, and they should have put Dallas away. The year before they dealt with injuries and weren't a mature team but still had a ton of talent on the roster.

But I feel like this run of the past few years is going to represent the most talent the Wolves can fit around Antman. They really built him a very strong squad. It is going to be extremely expensive to retain all of this talent going beyond this year (which is a big part of why they traded KAT).

Wolves have horrible PG play, easily the worst PG rotation of playoff teams each of the last two years

This is a bit of an indictment on Ant though. If he was more capable of running an offense this wouldn't be the case. He can still grow in to it, but they probably won't be able to stack the roster as much by the time that happens. As it is they have an extremely strong roster at the other positions and out talent most other playoff squads.

[PushDaRock]

Conley is 7 for 30 this series and has been a +5, +14, +12 and +2 in the 4 games. Funny how they're still winning the minutes he's out there despite the way he's shooting.

[MN7725]

Wolves have had an extremely strong supporting cast around him these past 3 years. You compare them to OKC right now and it is a quite narrow talent gap. Last year the Wolves were the closest rival to Boston when it came to depth of talent, and they should have put Dallas away. The year before they dealt with injuries and weren't a mature team but still had a ton of talent on the roster.

But I feel like this run of the past few years is going to represent the most talent the Wolves can fit around Antman. They really built him a very strong squad. It is going to be extremely expensive to retain all of this talent going beyond this year (which is a big part of why they traded KAT).

Wolves have horrible PG play, easily the worst PG rotation of playoff teams each of the last two years

Yup. Most Minnesota fans seemingly don't wanna admit it, but Conley has been crap the better part of this series. He's old and washed at almost 38. They need a productive PG who can actually contribute consistently and hit open 3's.

?

most would prefer Dillingham getting a shot

but either way, the Wolves have had the worst PG rotation the last two playoffs, they would be improved by swapping with literally any other playoff teams PGs

seriously, even like a Cole Anthony level player would improve the team dramatically

[HotelVitale]

OKC basically said we’re going to take Ant and Randle out of the game tonight and we will live with what we give up everywhere else. Well McDaniels, DiVincenso, NAW, Conelly and Reid were up to the challenge and knocked down shots. It would have been enough on most nights but OKC got big games out of Jdub and Holmgren to support SGA and that helped them overcome the flamethrowing from the Twolves bench.

You wondered if all of the 3s would get OKC out of their approach but in the end, Daigneault’s long play was correct. Ant and Randle had no rhythm in the crunch and couldn’t score on crucial possessions.

But besides the turnovers, it was a very respectable performance from Minnnesota. They win that game on most nights.

Ant took himself out the game - it’s like he doesn’t want he the face of the league

Keep having these games and he won’t have to worry about it

His boys stepped up and he stepped out

I was watching kinda distracted so not the best source, but it definitely looked like he initiated just about every play and got blitzed/doubled pretty aggressively if he got a good pick.

Could've done more, sure, but it was a really close game and a bounce here or there and they'd've won.