2025 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (OKC leads 1-0)

[TravisScott55]

OKC is too deep

[Castle Black]

This is nuts. Had to go back and double-check just to make sure it's legit and it is. Wild.

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[LFGK]

timberwolves have a great opportunity today, that's for sure. no idea why the wcf g1 is before the first ecf g1 but game on that's the cards dealt to us

smh, makes zero sense, Indi with 8 days off, Knicks with 4 days off sitting around waiting for the WCF matchup only for it to start before the ECF.

[Mamba Mentality]

I’ve got Thunder in 6 or 7. Don’t really see an angle for the Wolves, they’re going to need Ant to play like a superstar to win this series. Turnovers are also a big problem for the Wolves, unlike the Warriors the Thunder will feast off mistakes.

Denver committed 124 turnovers against OKC, the most by any team in a 7-game series since the Nets in 2004 against the Pistons.

Wolves are screwed unless they clean that part of their game up. Gotta imagine that’s a heavy point of emphasis in practice this week.

[tamaraw08]

It's so funny to see most of the credit in that Lakers-Wolves series to go towards the Lakers not being good.

The overwhelming consensus in that initial series thread was that the Wolves should just go straight to cancun.

This x100

Lakers were a good team and now they are seen as fodder. Lakers had 2 top 10 players and arguably the best 3rd option in the league. Minnesota earned my respect. They are legit, and while it's up in the air whether they are better than OKC, they sure as hell are better than Denver.

Only the Lakers fans thought they were good. Not a scrub team (like the Grizzlies) but definitely not on the same level as the Clippers, Grizzlies and Rockets.

To be fair, most of us Lakers fans really believed that this team badly needed a legit rim protector/rebounder after the trade with Charlotte was rescinded.
Then they butchered the Nuggets and OKC on the road, had back to back wins over the Clippers, won over GSW twice, beat Boston, Knicks, Pacers etc while managing to play pretty good defense despite losing AD and Christie allowing them to grab the 3rd spot in the tough WC.
Most fans and the media remember Luka leading Dallas to the Finals and thought that this team with Lebron can somewhat replicate their achievement but give credit to the more balanced T-Wolves team. Finch has done a marvelous job dissecting the Lakers defense or lack thereof. He also masterfully found a way to maximize Randle and McDaniels.

[Chuck Everett]

timberwolves have a great opportunity today, that's for sure. no idea why the wcf g1 is before the first ecf g1 but game on that's the cards dealt to us

smh, makes zero sense, Indi with 8 days off, Knicks with 4 days off sitting around waiting for the WCF matchup only for it to start before the ECF.

It's because if a Game 7 happened between the Knicks/Celtics, that game would have been played on Monday. If Game 7 happened between Warriors/T-Wolves, it would have been today. Certain series ended early, but the NBA pretty much locked the schedule for TV purposes since the conference finals are on different channels. ESPN/Disney has first choice as they are the primary partner.

[tamaraw08]

I’ve got Thunder in 6 or 7. Don’t really see an angle for the Wolves, they’re going to need Ant to play like a superstar to win this series. Turnovers are also a big problem for the Wolves, unlike the Warriors the Thunder will feast off mistakes.

Denver committed 124 turnovers against OKC, the most by any team in a 7-game series since the Nets in 2004 against the Pistons.

Yehhhh, Wolves are screwed...

There's a reason why OKC had the best DRTG in the RS but Denver's lack of depth also played a factor esp in Game 7 where they committed most of their 22 turnovers in the first half. I think the Thunder's suffocating defense simply wore down the exhausted Nuggets core.
TWolves are much deeper and more organized, pretty much took care of the ball vs a good Warriors defense (7th best in DRTG).
I think it's going to be a low scoring physical series esp if the refs allow more contacts.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I’ve got Thunder in 6 or 7. Don’t really see an angle for the Wolves, they’re going to need Ant to play like a superstar to win this series. Turnovers are also a big problem for the Wolves, unlike the Warriors the Thunder will feast off mistakes.

Denver committed 124 turnovers against OKC, the most by any team in a 7-game series since the Nets in 2004 against the Pistons.

Wolves are screwed unless they clean that up. Gotta imagine that’s a heavy point of emphasis in practice this week.

It will be an issue. OKC is really good on defense and the Wolves have bouts of sloppiness, including 21 TOs in each of the final 3 games vs. GSW... as I've read or heard about 30 times now.

BUT... I've yet to read or hear how the Timberwolves averaged only 12 TOs over the first 7.75 games of the playoffs.

Heck, the Wolves had 12 TOs in the 4th quarter of Game 4 alone... after building a 20+ point lead. They cut down on TOs per game quite a bit after the first couple months of the season, too.

I think the biggest advantage for OKC is that the Thunder not only force more TOs... but they commit the fewest in the league, both in the regular season and playoffs.

[F Saunders]

timberwolves have a great opportunity today, that's for sure. no idea why the wcf g1 is before the first ecf g1 but game on that's the cards dealt to us

smh, makes zero sense, Indi with 8 days off, Knicks with 4 days off sitting around waiting for the WCF matchup only for it to start before the ECF.

My assumption is that arena availability is the main driver (ex: MSG has a concert booked tonight, Fever and Lynx each host home games at the end of the week).

[syrus3]

David Adelman should’ve used all of his challenges but foolishly chose not to. Finch will be smarter.

[Mamba Mentality]

I’ve got Thunder in 6 or 7. Don’t really see an angle for the Wolves, they’re going to need Ant to play like a superstar to win this series. Turnovers are also a big problem for the Wolves, unlike the Warriors the Thunder will feast off mistakes.

Denver committed 124 turnovers against OKC, the most by any team in a 7-game series since the Nets in 2004 against the Pistons.

Yehhhh, Wolves are screwed...

There's a reason why OKC had the best DRTG in the RS but Denver's lack of depth also played a factor esp in Game 7 where they committed most of their 22 turnovers in the first half. I think the Thunder's suffocating defense simply wore down the exhausted Nuggets core.
TWolves are much deeper and more organized, pretty much took care of the ball vs a good Warriors defense (7th best in DRTG).
I think it's going to be a low scoring physical series esp if the refs allow more contacts.

vs Warriors...
Game 1 - 16 turnovers
Game 2 - 12 turnovers
Game 3 - 18 turnovers
Game 4 - 19 turnovers
Game 5 - 20 turnovers

That's an average of 17 turnovers per game up from their season average of 14.5. If that number doesn't come down they're going to have a really tough go in this series.

[bbms]

Denver committed 124 turnovers against OKC, the most by any team in a 7-game series since the Nets in 2004 against the Pistons.

Yehhhh, Wolves are screwed...

There's a reason why OKC had the best DRTG in the RS but Denver's lack of depth also played a factor esp in Game 7 where they committed most of their 22 turnovers in the first half. I think the Thunder's suffocating defense simply wore down the exhausted Nuggets core.
TWolves are much deeper and more organized, pretty much took care of the ball vs a good Warriors defense (7th best in DRTG).
I think it's going to be a low scoring physical series esp if the refs allow more contacts.

vs Warriors...
Game 1 - 16 turnovers
Game 2 - 12 turnovers
Game 3 - 18 turnovers
Game 4 - 19 turnovers
Game 5 - 20 turnovers

That's an average of 17 turnovers per game up from their season average of 14.5. If that number doesn't come down they're not going to have a chance in this series.

for comparison

denver vs okc - 15.1 TOV% (regular season 12.5 TOV%, 13th)
minnesota vs gsw - 16.8 TOV% (regular season 13.0 TOV%, 20th)

[cjx]

I'm good with a Wolves vs Pacers NBA Finals, Fam

The NBA Illuminati favors Ant Man more than Shai

MJ's son is not losing to Harden's son, book it

[Ugly0598]

Just a heads up for RealGM users:

Jokic is gone. He's eliminated.

Seems obvious, but you never know, some people may still need to hear this.

Anyway, OKC in 6.

O rly?

The man has the most dedicated, and sometimes irrational, stans in the world and on RealGM ever since LeBron, so yeah, oh really.

I’ve been critical of Jokic’s defense quite often, even been called a hater sometimes. So, no.

[lethalizer]

O rly?

The man has the most dedicated, and sometimes irrational, stans in the world and on RealGM ever since LeBron, so yeah, oh really.

I’ve been critical of Jokic’s defense quite often, even been called a hater sometimes. So, no.

Well, you aren't one of those people I described then? Why did you reply with an "o rly?" when it's obvious the post wasn't directed at you?

[Catchall]

The Thunder might go 8-2 the rest of the way, tbh.

[syrus3]

The Thunder struggled against an injured hobbled team. And needed Scott Foster and his cronies to continuously bail them out. But again, the Wolves should be so scared.

[scrabbarista]

I picked OKC in 6, but I'm not gonna lie, Big Wos' defense of his Wolves in 7 pick made a lot of sense.

Still sticking with my pick. I expect OKC to behave like adults now that they've been through the rite of the Denver series.

[life_saver]

I picked OKC in 6, but I'm not gonna lie, Big Wos' defense of his Wolves in 7 pick made a lot of sense.

Still sticking with my pick. I expect OKC to behave like adults now that they've been through the rite of the Denver series.

sorry who is Big Wos ?

[Alatan]

I cant wait for the Wolves fanbase start losing their minds when they see how everything is a foul on SGA while OKC mauls Ant.