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As Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle go, so go the Wolves.

This season, Minnesota is 30-9 when both stars score 20+ points. In Game 3 of the West Finals, Edwards (30) and Randle (24) did just that, powering a 143-point eruption – the most OKC has allowed all season.

48 hours later, the Thunder’s defense answered.

Lockdown: After combining for 54 points in Game 3, OKC limited Edwards and Randle to 21 in Game 4 – their lowest combined output all season

Winning Formula: It was just the ninth time this season both stars were held under 20 points. In those games the Wolves are 4-5

So how did OKC pull it off? It threw bodies, length and layers of pressure at both stars – starting with Edwards.

OKC Swarm: Six defenders spent 50+ seconds on Ant – Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, SGA, Chet Holmgren & Jalen Williams

Together, they held Edwards to a combined 6-of-13 shooting and forced four turnovers

But it was Dort – OKC’s First-Team All-Defender – who led the way, spending the most time on Edwards while holding him to just two shot attempts


(Dort made Edwards work for everything – even the ball. Here, he denies the handoff, absorbs a screen, then doubles with Isaiah Hartenstein to force it out of Ant’s hands.)


Defending From Deep: After going 5-of-8 from downtown in Game 3, OKC limited Edwards to 1-of-7 from 3 in Game 4 thanks to heavy perimeter pressure.


(Wallace fights over a Gobert screen to prevent the 3. Edwards still finds space, but Hartenstein helps over to contest.)


With limited airspace, Ant attacked, recording 18 drives – nearly six more than his series average. Only four ended in buckets, as OKC’s help collapsed from the corners to clog the lane.


(After a seamless switch with Caruso, Dort funnels Edwards toward the corner help where Williams pokes it free. Caruso, still hovering, cleans up the rest.)

...

The same swarm hit Randle.

Four defenders spent 45+ seconds on the power forward, led by Williams, along with Caruso, Holmgren and Wallace. Together, they held him to a combined 0-of-5 shooting and forced four turnovers.

Their Plan? Wall off the interior. A bruising scorer, Randle averaged 9.3 drives for 6.3 ppg in Games 1-3. In Game 4, OKC limited him to two drives for zero points.


(With Williams on his hip, Randle drives into a wall off help, meeting both Dort and Holmgren. The pressure forces an errant pass, and another OKC steal.)


Containing the Wolves’ star duo let OKC return to its roots. After just five steals in Game 3, five different Thunder recorded multiple steals in Game 4, resulting in 23 forced turnovers. That led to 22 points the other way – and a 3-1 series lead.

bisme37 wrote:From NBA.com:

Spoiler:

THUNDER SWARM: OKC’S BLUEPRINT TO SLOWING DOWN MINNY’S STARS

As Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle go, so go the Wolves.

This season, Minnesota is 30-9 when both stars score 20+ points. In Game 3 of the West Finals, Edwards (30) and Randle (24) did just that, powering a 143-point eruption – the most OKC has allowed all season.

48 hours later, the Thunder’s defense answered.

Lockdown: After combining for 54 points in Game 3, OKC limited Edwards and Randle to 21 in Game 4 – their lowest combined output all season

Winning Formula: It was just the ninth time this season both stars were held under 20 points. In those games the Wolves are 4-5

So how did OKC pull it off? It threw bodies, length and layers of pressure at both stars – starting with Edwards.

OKC Swarm: Six defenders spent 50+ seconds on Ant – Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, SGA, Chet Holmgren & Jalen Williams

Together, they held Edwards to a combined 6-of-13 shooting and forced four turnovers

But it was Dort – OKC’s First-Team All-Defender – who led the way, spending the most time on Edwards while holding him to just two shot attempts


(Dort made Edwards work for everything – even the ball. Here, he denies the handoff, absorbs a screen, then doubles with Isaiah Hartenstein to force it out of Ant’s hands.)


Defending From Deep: After going 5-of-8 from downtown in Game 3, OKC limited Edwards to 1-of-7 from 3 in Game 4 thanks to heavy perimeter pressure.


(Wallace fights over a Gobert screen to prevent the 3. Edwards still finds space, but Hartenstein helps over to contest.)


With limited airspace, Ant attacked, recording 18 drives – nearly six more than his series average. Only four ended in buckets, as OKC’s help collapsed from the corners to clog the lane.


(After a seamless switch with Caruso, Dort funnels Edwards toward the corner help where Williams pokes it free. Caruso, still hovering, cleans up the rest.)

...

The same swarm hit Randle.

Four defenders spent 45+ seconds on the power forward, led by Williams, along with Caruso, Holmgren and Wallace. Together, they held him to a combined 0-of-5 shooting and forced four turnovers.

Their Plan? Wall off the interior. A bruising scorer, Randle averaged 9.3 drives for 6.3 ppg in Games 1-3. In Game 4, OKC limited him to two drives for zero points.


(With Williams on his hip, Randle drives into a wall off help, meeting both Dort and Holmgren. The pressure forces an errant pass, and another OKC steal.)


Containing the Wolves’ star duo let OKC return to its roots. After just five steals in Game 3, five different Thunder recorded multiple steals in Game 4, resulting in 23 forced turnovers. That led to 22 points the other way – and a 3-1 series lead.

ReggiesKnicks wrote:

bisme37 wrote:From NBA.com:

Spoiler:

THUNDER SWARM: OKC’S BLUEPRINT TO SLOWING DOWN MINNY’S STARS

As Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle go, so go the Wolves.

This season, Minnesota is 30-9 when both stars score 20+ points. In Game 3 of the West Finals, Edwards (30) and Randle (24) did just that, powering a 143-point eruption – the most OKC has allowed all season.

48 hours later, the Thunder’s defense answered.

Lockdown: After combining for 54 points in Game 3, OKC limited Edwards and Randle to 21 in Game 4 – their lowest combined output all season

Winning Formula: It was just the ninth time this season both stars were held under 20 points. In those games the Wolves are 4-5

So how did OKC pull it off? It threw bodies, length and layers of pressure at both stars – starting with Edwards.

OKC Swarm: Six defenders spent 50+ seconds on Ant – Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, SGA, Chet Holmgren & Jalen Williams

Together, they held Edwards to a combined 6-of-13 shooting and forced four turnovers

But it was Dort – OKC’s First-Team All-Defender – who led the way, spending the most time on Edwards while holding him to just two shot attempts


(Dort made Edwards work for everything – even the ball. Here, he denies the handoff, absorbs a screen, then doubles with Isaiah Hartenstein to force it out of Ant’s hands.)


Defending From Deep: After going 5-of-8 from downtown in Game 3, OKC limited Edwards to 1-of-7 from 3 in Game 4 thanks to heavy perimeter pressure.


(Wallace fights over a Gobert screen to prevent the 3. Edwards still finds space, but Hartenstein helps over to contest.)


With limited airspace, Ant attacked, recording 18 drives – nearly six more than his series average. Only four ended in buckets, as OKC’s help collapsed from the corners to clog the lane.


(After a seamless switch with Caruso, Dort funnels Edwards toward the corner help where Williams pokes it free. Caruso, still hovering, cleans up the rest.)

...

The same swarm hit Randle.

Four defenders spent 45+ seconds on the power forward, led by Williams, along with Caruso, Holmgren and Wallace. Together, they held him to a combined 0-of-5 shooting and forced four turnovers.

Their Plan? Wall off the interior. A bruising scorer, Randle averaged 9.3 drives for 6.3 ppg in Games 1-3. In Game 4, OKC limited him to two drives for zero points.


(With Williams on his hip, Randle drives into a wall off help, meeting both Dort and Holmgren. The pressure forces an errant pass, and another OKC steal.)


Containing the Wolves’ star duo let OKC return to its roots. After just five steals in Game 3, five different Thunder recorded multiple steals in Game 4, resulting in 23 forced turnovers. That led to 22 points the other way – and a 3-1 series lead.

Imagine if McDaniels/ANT/DDV had their hands on SGA like Dort does on ANT. 20 Free Throws? 25 Free Throws?

Dadouv47 wrote:I'm a bit too confident about tonight's game but then I remember about game 6 of 2016 and I feel sick to my stomach

My Main Man wrote:I think we’ll be able to tell the winner within the first 6-7 minutes. If the Wolves come to play, they’ll be in killer mode similar to game 3 and they’ll take this one. If it’s close midway through the first quarter, I think the Thunder close it out.

donkki wrote:I won"t write off either the Wolves or the Knicks just yet.

SGA will get his obviously, but the key for the Wolves is to limit others, Jalen Williams and Holmgren. Cannot let them have big games.

Dadouv47 wrote:I'm a bit too confident about tonight's game but then I remember about game 6 of 2016 and I feel sick to my stomach