FILE–Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves interact after the NBA Play-In game at Target Center on April 14, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Thunder 120-95 to advance to the NBA Playoffs as the #8 seed. David Berding/Getty Images/AFP
Preview capsule on the Minnesota Timberwolves-Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Western Conference finals series that starts Tuesday:
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, 8-3) vs No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, 8-2)
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Regular season series: Tied, 2-2.
Schedule: Game 1 at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Game 2 at Oklahoma City on Thursday, Game 3 at Minnesota on Saturday, Game 4 at Minnesota on May 26, Game 5 at Oklahoma City on May 28 (if necessary), Game 6 at Minnesota on May 30 (if necessary), Game 7 at Oklahoma City on June 1 (if necessary).
How they got here: Oklahoma City swept Memphis in Round 1 and needed seven games to oust Denver in Round 2. The Timberwolves topped LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in Round 1; they beat Golden State — which lost Stephen Curry in Game 1 — in five games in Round 2.
Story line: Oklahoma City hasn’t been to the NBA Finals since 2012, when Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook led the way into a matchup with Miami — a series that saw LeBron James win his first championship. Minnesota has never been to the NBA Finals and now is four wins from changing that.
The Thunder had the biggest scoring differential in the NBA this season, outscoring teams by an average of 12.9 points per game. But a number inside that number jumps out; Minnesota outscored Oklahoma City by a total of three points in their four head-to-head meetings. (The Thunder outscored everyone else by 13.6 points per game).
READ: NBA: Timberwolves driven as ever to win for revered Mike Conley
Key matchup: Apologies for the obvious, but it’s Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards. Gilgeous-Alexander is the likely NBA MVP this season; Edwards is an Olympic gold medalist and it won’t surprise anybody if he’s an MVP before long. Dynamic guards who control the game and will have the ball in their hands on every play when the outcome hangs in the balance.
X-factors: Gilgeous-Alexander will probably be guarded at times by Minnesota’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, his cousin — who has had some success against the OKC star on the defensive end.
The paint defense of Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert could be huge in this series, especially since the Thunder have shot 58% in the paint in the playoffs. And Minnesota cannot turn the ball over; OKC has gotten 20 points per game off takeaways through the first two rounds.
Prediction: Feels like a total coin flip. Thunder in 7.
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