2025 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (OKC leads 2-0)

[Diop]

Yep, the same one that beat the LBJ match up not to mention the defensive stalwart Draymond Green.

One bad game from Randle, everyone is allowed that. He'll do better.

One can only hope

its not just Randle though, its a team/system thing to get him in the right places. hopefully they can figure some stuff out.

Timberwolves showed life and showed they belonged. I expect OKC to win, but not to sweep.

[California Gold]

Why is there any talk about the Knicks trying to beat OKC in this thread? They may not even win their own series but they certainly aren't on the same planet as the Thunder regardless.

[LSWF]

One bad game from Randle, everyone is allowed that. He'll do better.

One can only hope

its not just Randle though, its a team/system thing to get him in the right places. hopefully they can figure some stuff out.

Timberwolves showed life and showed they belonged. I expect OKC to win, but not to sweep.

They may sweep us. The Wolves have not had a complete game since the first game against the Lakers. They have however exceeded my expectations this year after the KAT trade. So I'm looking at it like we're playing with house money right now. Being a fan since the beginning, I'm just happy to not be obsessing about the draft. Playoff basketball is always good when you're a long suffering Wolves fan.

[SweetTouch]

The baby wolves have to sign Julius Randle now

Damn what a joke

Imagine having that guy as your robin

Volume shooting horrible defender

[DonaldSanders]

They may sweep us. The Wolves have not had a complete game since the first game against the Lakers. They have however exceeded my expectations this year after the KAT trade. So I'm looking at it like we're playing with house money right now. Being a fan since the beginning, I'm just happy to not be obsessing about the draft. Playoff basketball is always good when you're a long suffering Wolves fan.

B2B WCF ain't nothing. You have a budding superstar, in time he will show more and maybe it leads to a chip. Ant is 23 and getting valuable playoff experience.

[LSWF]

The baby wolves have to sign Julius Randle now

Damn what a joke

Imagine having that guy as your robin

Volume shooting horrible defender

Tim Connelly has been pretty good at putting teams together. Should be an interesting summer.

[Mavrelous]

Lu Dort has crossed the Rubicon

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[Doranku]

If it’s really such a terrible contract as you claim, then how could they trade it for anything of value?

The Rudy Gobert era is the most successful era of basketball in Minnesota Timberwolves history. They may not win a title, but it’s hard to make the WCF and they’ve done it 2 years in a row. I believe they’re the first team since the KD Warriors to make the WCF 2 years in a row:

Yeah it's a double edged sword but it's going to continue to hold the team hostage. Is it worth it to take a step back a year or two to get to the promise land by trying to dump him somewhere? I say yes

How does getting rid of Gobert help the Timberwolves win a championship? The last time the Timberwolves got rid of a great defensive big they didn’t make the playoffs again for 15 years.

Nah, we are NOT going to compare Rudy Gobert to Kevin **** Garnett. HELL no.

[Andri]

Great game from OKC, and finally — IMO — a truly great performance from SGA. For what it’s worth, I do think the Wolves had stretches where they showed they can beat OKC, but they lack mental toughness and consistency. They attacked the basket more instead of settling for threes, and they managed to draw fouls from OKC.

Positives for Minnesota going forward: they still missed more open threes than expected. Naz is having an uncharacteristic series. At home, role players typically hit more of those shots than on the road. They’ve also learned that playing Randle alongside Naz allows them to drive more and kick out for open threes. On the other hand, OKC’s 2 through 5 have played very well. I expect some regression from them in at least one of the upcoming road games. Refereeing has adjusted from Game 1 to Game 2, and I expect that trend to continue through the series — which I see as a good thing.

Negatives: I think the Wolves lack the mental resilience to compete for the full 48 minutes, which is exactly what OKC demands every game. Denver is the opposite, and it showed. Their shortcomings were more about stamina — for reasons that have already been discussed repeatedly. They’re also a team whose two best players are inconsistent and careless with the ball. Plus, Gobert’s lack of physical strength in the restricted area, combined with his well-known offensive limitations, is making him nearly unplayable in this particular matchup.

It’s time for the Wolves to step up if they’re truly up to the challenge. If not, it might be time to reconsider their approach and retool — if they’re genuinely committed to taking the next step forward.

[God Squad]

OKC should be the clear favorite to win the title now. Nobody is on their level that’s left.

There wasn't another team on their level this year

wtf. Denver took the series to 7 games.

[God Squad]

IMO, Minnesota has been playing soft.

[Bergmaniac]

Remember when people on this board were saying the Wolves will win because they are much more physical than the Thunder?

[KayDee35]

Lu Dort has crossed the Rubicon

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The way OKC has been getting calls, I'm surprised the ref wasn't charged with a foul.

[KayDee35]

IMO, Minnesota has been playing soft.

If you get this foolish notion into your head that you're going to play OKC tough, the refs will fix it for you with a couple of whistles. The ref's whistle is the true space creator for OKC and Shai.

And if you get another foolish notion that you're going to get the same whistle when you have the ball, you can ask Denver how that went for them or watch the tape.

Refs establish the tone. And the tone is that Shai is untouchable.

[Pattycakes]

OKC should be the clear favorite to win the title now. Nobody is on their level that’s left.

There wasn't another team on their level this year

wtf. Denver took the series to 7 games.

Shhhh they’re in “next ten titles are ours” filter atm. No sense to bring to the table

[ThunderBolt]

Lu Dort has crossed the Rubicon

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The way OKC has been getting calls, I'm surprised the ref wasn't charged with a foul.

Even as an okc fan that thinks people are overreacting, this made me lol. Well played.

[MoneyTalks41890]

Witnessing greatness

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[Ssj16]

The Western Finals for me was Den vs OKC. Minny just isn't good enough. They're lucky to even be in the Western Finals after Steph got injured. They just don't have the players that make them that team.

Overreaction.
Minnesota handles Denver better than any team in the West.
Wait until the series get to Target Center.
OKC is better. But they will lose both games in Minny. That's what i think. Minny will come back in OKC with a shot.

I'll take it a step further. I have a thread stating that was the Finals that I started before this series and I still believe that.

[God Squad]

There wasn't another team on their level this year

wtf. Denver took the series to 7 games.

Shhhh they’re in “next ten titles are ours” filter atm. No sense to bring to the table

I just find it weird how they can forget, and it just happened.

[KP Duty]

Witnessing greatness

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So satisfying to watch...