Thunder vs Timberwolves WCF Preview Everything You Need to Know Before Tip
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The Western Conference Finals are set. The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Minnesota Timberwolves for the right to represent the West in the 2025 NBA Finals.
More NBA news: LeBron James Comments on Nuggets-Thunder Game 7
This series is set to be one worth watching, as two of the brightest and youngest stars in the game will be at center stage: Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards.
These two superstars will do their best to lead their team to the NBA Finals for the first time in their careers.
Who Has Home-Court Advantage?
The top-seeded Thunder are set to host the sixth-seeded Timberwolves beginning Tuesday, May 20. This marks Oklahoma City's first trip to the Western Conference Finals in nearly a decade. The franchise last reached this stage in 2016, where they fell in a seven-game battle to the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
Now, with a new-look roster and momentum on their side, the Thunder aim to secure just their second NBA Finals appearance since relocating to Oklahoma City.
Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter at Target Center on January 20, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Thunder...
Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter at Target Center on January 20, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Thunder defeated the Timberwolves 102-97. More
Photo byHow Did Each Team Get Here?
Although the Thunder are the No. 1 seed, their road to the conference finals was significantly more challenging than that of the Timberwolves. It only took Minnesota 10 games between the first two rounds to reach the conference finals.
As for the Thunder, while they made their first-round series look easy with a sweep over the Memphis Grizzlies, the 2023 NBA champion Nuggets took them to the brink of elimination with an epic seven-game series.
The Thunder handled the Grizzlies in the first two games at home. In the next two on the road, the Grizzlies gave the Thunder a run for their money.
The Timberwolves handled their first two series with ease. They defeated the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers in five games. Minnesota dominated Game 1 in that series, lost Game 2, and executed down the stretch in Games 3, 4 and 5.
In their next series against the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors, they struggled in Game 1 in front of their home fans. Although Stephen Curry suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for the rest of the game, Minnesota dropped the first game of that series. However, in the next four games, the Timberwolves proved to be the better, superior and healthier team.
Regular Season Results
The 68-win Thunder were elite all season long. Their record in the tough Western Conference was as good as it could be, collecting a 39-13 record. However, two of these 13 losses from West teams can come from the Timberwolves.
The Thunder and Timberwolves split the season series at two games apiece. Minnesota averaged 118.8 points per game, 48.8 rebounds, 25.3 assists and shot 45.1 percent from the field in the season against Oklahoma City.
The Thunder averaged 118.0 points per game, 44.0 rebounds, 27.3 assists and 46.6 percent field goal shooting against Minnesota.
Players to Watch
While all eyes will be on the superstars like Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander, and rightfully so. There is much star power in this series.
Aside from those two, the two players from each team to watch for in this series are Timberwolves' Julius Randle and Thunder's Jalen Williams. Randle, who had struggled in the playoffs for the past handful of seasons, is proving to be a difference-maker for Minnesota.
He's playing the best ball of his career and in the most important time, averaging 23.9 points on 50.9 percent shooting.
Williams did not have the strongest semifinals or playoffs, for that matter. He's shooting poorly from the field, and his numbers are well below those of the regular season. Williams needs to be better if the Thunder wants any shot at the title.
Prediction
These two teams are here for a reason; however, in this series, it's hard to count out the Thunder.
They have the likely MVP Gilgeous-Alexander on their side, and they have a ton of perimeter defenders to contain Edwards.
The Thunder will get over the Timberwolves in a hard-fought seven-game series.
More NBA news: Trae Young Takes Massive Shot at Knicks Fans During Thunder-Nuggets Game 7
For more Thunder, Timberwolves, NBA news and rumors, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
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