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

[ImmortalD24]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

[AbeVigodaLive]

Weird game to assess Edwards. Obviously, OKC threw A LOT at Edwards to make others beat them. It worked... and yet... almost didn't work.

- "EdWArdS HaS to SHooT MoAR!!!"

Yeah!!. Superstars show up in the playoffs. He seemed tentative in the first half. He didn't take ownership of that game like SGA and others do. Maybe he's just not good enough... yet.

No! The Wolves were great on offense in part because he was patient and passed the ball. OKC is being touted as one of the best defensive teams in years, and it starts with aggressive, physical perimeter defense. Yet despite Edwards not shooting much... the Timberwolves had a 133.2 ORTG. A lot of it was from him simply getting off the ball.

Remember, Edwards remains a work in progress. And the Wolves have been begging him for years to "make the simple easy play." He did that yesterday and the team thrived offensively. But when it still ends in a loss... the claws come out.

When Edwards did push it more in the 2nd half... he had 4 TOs. Forcing the issue for yourself when your teammates are having career games isn't always the best strategy. It's actually a sign of maturity that Edwards didn't force it as much for himself.

------------

It's a fine needle to thread. There will be another game when Edwards goes 5 - 24 fg and people will say he should have passed more. These things come with the territory as THE guy for a deep playoff team. It's to be expected. And it should be expected that Edwards continues to get better as a player.

If he's what many think he can be... he'll get closer to figuring it out. But threading the needle will be a constant in his career. Winning can help spin which way the narrative goes.

[Ambrose]

Weird game to assess Edwards. Obviously, OKC threw A LOT at Edwards to make others beat them. It worked... and yet... almost didn't work.

- "EdWArdS HaS to SHooT MoAR!!!"

Yeah!!. Superstars show up in the playoffs. He seemed tentative in the first half. He didn't take ownership of that game like SGA and others do. Maybe he's just not good enough... yet.

No! The Wolves were great on offense in part because he was patient and passed the ball. OKC is being touted as one of the best defensive teams in years, and it starts with aggressive, physical perimeter defense. Yet despite Edwards not shooting much... the Timberwolves had a 133.2 ORTG. A lot of it was from him simply getting off the ball.

Remember, Edwards remains a work in progress. And the Wolves have been begging him for years to "make the simple easy play." He did that yesterday and the team thrived offensively. But when it still ends in a loss... the claws come out.

When Edwards did push it more in the 2nd half... he had 4 TOs. Forcing the issue for yourself when your teammates are having career games isn't always the best strategy. It's actually a sign of maturity that Edwards didn't force it as much for himself.

------------

It's a fine needle to thread. There will be another game when Edwards goes 5 - 24 fg and people will say he should have passed more. These things come with the territory as THE guy for a deep playoff team. It's to be expected. And it should be expected that Edwards continues to get better as a player.

If he's what many think he can be... he'll get closer to figuring it out. But threading the needle will be a constant in his career. Winning can help spin which way the narrative goes.

I mostly agree with this. I think people have missed the 'issue' with Ant. It's not lacking aggression in a game like this. He made good passing reads all game long. When he tried forcing things, it was a turnover or a bad shot. His real problem is not having an in between game to lean on anymore.

[durden_tyler]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

Too late. SGA is labeled Free Throw Merchant forever now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ugly0598]

Weird game to assess Edwards. Obviously, OKC threw A LOT at Edwards to make others beat them. It worked... and yet... almost didn't work.

- "EdWArdS HaS to SHooT MoAR!!!"

Yeah!!. Superstars show up in the playoffs. He seemed tentative in the first half. He didn't take ownership of that game like SGA and others do. Maybe he's just not good enough... yet.

No! The Wolves were great on offense in part because he was patient and passed the ball. OKC is being touted as one of the best defensive teams in years, and it starts with aggressive, physical perimeter defense. Yet despite Edwards not shooting much... the Timberwolves had a 133.2 ORTG. A lot of it was from him simply getting off the ball.

Remember, Edwards remains a work in progress. And the Wolves have been begging him for years to "make the simple easy play." He did that yesterday and the team thrived offensively. But when it still ends in a loss... the claws come out.

When Edwards did push it more in the 2nd half... he had 4 TOs. Forcing the issue for yourself when your teammates are having career games isn't always the best strategy. It's actually a sign of maturity that Edwards didn't force it as much for himself.

------------

It's a fine needle to thread. There will be another game when Edwards goes 5 - 24 fg and people will say he should have passed more. These things come with the territory as THE guy for a deep playoff team. It's to be expected. And it should be expected that Edwards continues to get better as a player.

If he's what many think he can be... he'll get closer to figuring it out. But threading the needle will be a constant in his career. Winning can help spin which way the narrative goes.

Minnesota lost the game.

[benhillboy]

I didn’t watch much of the game. But I see a headline with SAS criticizing Ant’s “aggression” and I immediately assume he played pretty well. SAS doesn’t get nuance. At all.

Seeing how Ant shot poorly, turned over a bunch, had no stocks and barely hit the glass he still finished -3. If he had truly played poorly he would’ve been like -17 with those raw numbers.

He can’t learn to be a GS level screener and cutter overnight. I hope and suspect his off ball game will take a step this offseason. He simply doesn’t have the playmaker variance and processing speed needed in his teammates to capitalize off how early and often he’s blitzed off the ball. Especially by a team who looks like they invented gap and hard-hedging defense.

[Ugly0598]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

I am not impressed by her.

[MrPainfulTruth]

OKC are nice, but they are an SGA injury away from disaster.

News flash: Team would suffer a disaster if their MVP got injured.

I mean, I don't even know what to say here lol

You mean if someone pulled a Dort on them like they did to Ja Morant? Take his legs out mid air? Oh wait, thats his "great physical defense" i guess

[MrPainfulTruth]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

[Doranku]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

Crazy how that free throw merchant took out your 3x MVP while shooting less free throws, outplaying him overall, and having a 2nd option that put up 18 ppg on 38% (24% from 3) shooting in the series.

[AbeVigodaLive]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

Or just own it. Even a little bit.

SGA is an incredible player. MVP player.
SGA is an egregious flopper/free throw merchant... which is even more pronounced considering how physical OKC's great perimeter players play on the other end of the court.

Both can be true.

[SweetTouch]

So Edward’s will ask for a trade soon

The best the baby wolves can get him is Julius Randle ?

A known scrub

[Patches Perry]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

Or just own it. Even a little bit.

SGA is an incredible player. MVP player.
SGA is an egregious flopper/free throw merchant... which is even more pronounced considering how physical OKC's great perimeter players play on the other end of the court.

Both can be true.

The #2 statement should end with "as many of the best players in the league are"

I don’t have an issue with calling foul baiters as they are. It's the fact that the criticism is so selective and arbitrary that suggests that many people making those claims are not acting in good faith.

Jokic flopped and foul baited a significant amount in the OKC series too, but when he does it, Doris and the Chorus will praise how high IQ, crafty and smart he is to trick defenders. Luka gets the same descriptions. It's hard to take serious.

[WestbrookGOATed]

OKC are nice, but they are an SGA injury away from disaster.

News flash: Team would suffer a disaster if their MVP got injured.

I mean, I don't even know what to say here lol

You mean if someone pulled a Dort on them like they did to Ja Morant? Take his legs out mid air? Oh wait, thats his "great physical defense" i guess

The Thunder beat them by 50 and Ja played the entire game, I highly doubt Dort or anyone else on the Thunder were worried about him, especially to the point of intentionally injuring him lol.

[MrPainfulTruth]

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

Or just own it. Even a little bit.

SGA is an incredible player. MVP player.
SGA is an egregious flopper/free throw merchant... which is even more pronounced considering how physical OKC's great perimeter players play on the other end of the court.

Both can be true.

The #2 statement should end with "as many of the best players in the league are"

I don’t have an issue with calling foul baiters as they are. It's the fact that the criticism is so selective and arbitrary that suggests that many people making those claims are not acting in good faith.

Jokic flopped and foul baited a significant amount in the OKC series too, but when he does it, Doris and the Chorus will praise how high IQ, crafty and smart he is to trick defenders. Luka gets the same descriptions. It's hard to take serious.

Its not the same, and its hard to take you serious if you pretend Jokic exaggerating contact (because it was continuously overlooked) is the same as SGA jumping into people and flailing his arms around. I'll not even discuss this, and noone else outside the OKC fan bubble will take your argument serious.

I cannot come up with a single player in this league who flops like SGA. Everyone embellishes contact - you dont get a charge call without falling to the floor - but thats a whole different quality.

The result of SGA's flopping and the refs helping him is that he has plenty room for his midrange game, which in turn makes him look like a dead eye shooter. But i can think of a lot of players who, given the same space, would produce the same results. I'm not really impressed.

[WestbrookGOATed]

https://www.change.org/p/remove-doris-burke-from-nba-broadcasts

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

Crazy how that free throw merchant took out your 3x MVP while shooting less free throws, outplaying him overall, and having a 2nd option that put up 18 ppg on 38% (24% from 3) shooting in the series.

Hang on, did you just insinuate that Jokic isn't perfect? Not allowed to do that on here!

[MrPainfulTruth]

News flash: Team would suffer a disaster if their MVP got injured.

I mean, I don't even know what to say here lol

You mean if someone pulled a Dort on them like they did to Ja Morant? Take his legs out mid air? Oh wait, thats his "great physical defense" i guess

The Thunder beat them by 50 and Ja played the entire game, I highly doubt Dort or anyone else on the Thunder were worried about him, especially to the point of intentionally injuring him lol.

What was the score of the game when Dort took out Ja, remind us...? Who was getting blown out until their best player got injured by "accident" by the same guy who tries it agian and again?

[AbeVigodaLive]

OKC fans angry to hear the painful truth

Instead of trying to censor voices that express dislike with what your MVP does, you guys should own it. He is a free throw merchant, he is a flopper, and he is getting preferrable, soft whistle. Swallow your pride, enjoy your teams' success - however questionable - and move forwards.

Or just own it. Even a little bit.

SGA is an incredible player. MVP player.
SGA is an egregious flopper/free throw merchant... which is even more pronounced considering how physical OKC's great perimeter players play on the other end of the court.

Both can be true.

The #2 statement should end with "as many of the best players in the league are"

I don’t have an issue with calling foul baiters as they are. It's the fact that the criticism is so selective and arbitrary that suggests that many people making those claims are not acting in good faith.

Jokic flopped and foul baited a significant amount in the OKC series too, but when he does it, Doris and the Chorus will praise how high IQ, crafty and smart he is to trick defenders. Luka gets the same descriptions. It's hard to take serious.

Right now, it's the Timberwolves vs. Thunder... so the "whataboutisms" don't cut it.

The egregious flopping in this series has been decidedly one-sided.



[Note: Every NBA team has about a dozen coaches. There's no reason why MN shouldn't have one solely dedicated to helping Edwards learn the nuances of FT merchantry. As teams fight and scramble for fractions of differences around the margins... the Timberwolves have multiple points every game sitting there... available. I think we'll be seeing it more flopping from Edwards next year.]

[Patches Perry]

Or just own it. Even a little bit.

SGA is an incredible player. MVP player.
SGA is an egregious flopper/free throw merchant... which is even more pronounced considering how physical OKC's great perimeter players play on the other end of the court.

Both can be true.

The #2 statement should end with "as many of the best players in the league are"

I don’t have an issue with calling foul baiters as they are. It's the fact that the criticism is so selective and arbitrary that suggests that many people making those claims are not acting in good faith.

Jokic flopped and foul baited a significant amount in the OKC series too, but when he does it, Doris and the Chorus will praise how high IQ, crafty and smart he is to trick defenders. Luka gets the same descriptions. It's hard to take serious.

Its not the same, and its hard to take you serious if you pretend Jokic exaggerating contact (because it was continuously overlooked) is the same as SGA jumping into people and flailing his arms around. I'll not even discuss this, and noone else outside the OKC fan bubble will take your argument serious.

I cannot come up with a single player in this league who flops like SGA. Everyone embellishes contact - you dont get a charge call without falling to the floor - but thats a whole different quality.

The result of SGA's flopping and the refs helping him is that he has plenty room for his midrange game, which in turn makes him look like a dead eye shooter. But i can think of a lot of players who, given the same space, would produce the same results. I'm not really impressed.

Thank you for providing the exact its just different when my fav players/teams do it rationale that I was talking about in my post. You ignore all data that disprove the claims and all examples of other players doing it egregiously. Hell, as SGA pointed out, nobody cared about him doing it until he became a threat to yall. Totally unserious bad faith criticisms.

Carry on with your tantrum.

[MrPainfulTruth]

The #2 statement should end with "as many of the best players in the league are"

I don’t have an issue with calling foul baiters as they are. It's the fact that the criticism is so selective and arbitrary that suggests that many people making those claims are not acting in good faith.

Jokic flopped and foul baited a significant amount in the OKC series too, but when he does it, Doris and the Chorus will praise how high IQ, crafty and smart he is to trick defenders. Luka gets the same descriptions. It's hard to take serious.

Its not the same, and its hard to take you serious if you pretend Jokic exaggerating contact (because it was continuously overlooked) is the same as SGA jumping into people and flailing his arms around. I'll not even discuss this, and noone else outside the OKC fan bubble will take your argument serious.

I cannot come up with a single player in this league who flops like SGA. Everyone embellishes contact - you dont get a charge call without falling to the floor - but thats a whole different quality.

The result of SGA's flopping and the refs helping him is that he has plenty room for his midrange game, which in turn makes him look like a dead eye shooter. But i can think of a lot of players who, given the same space, would produce the same results. I'm not really impressed.

Thank you for providing the exact its just different when my fav players/teams do it rationale that I was talking about in my post. You ignore all data that disprove the claims and all examples of other players doing it egregiously. Hell, as SGA pointed out, nobody cared about him doing it until he became a threat to yall. Totally unserious bad faith criticisms.

Carry on with your tantrum.

As expected from a "fan", ad hominem and little else. Thats the core of sports fans, no issues with that. Just gotta accept theres a bunch of other people around here who wont agree with you.

And again - its not just SGA's ridiculous foul baiting that upsets the NBA world. Its the combination of him creating little or no contact, often pushing off himself, and getting rewarded with calls, while on the other end, the officials allow contact like this wasnt basketball but wrestling. We saw what Caruso got away with on Jokic. It had nothing to do with basketball. Next trip down SGA gets free throws for jumping sideways into a defender. These double standards dominated the regular season, these playoffs. Same in the WNBA by the way. Who ever pretends not to see that the result is kinda predetermined is either clueless or a fan of the favored team.