NBA Western Conference Finals Tips: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves
The NBA Western Conference Finals begin this week as the Oklahoma City Thunder come up against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
OKC are looking to land the championship for just the second time in their history and for the first time since becoming the Thunder, with their previous title coming in 1979 as the Seattle Supersonics.
Minnesota are bidding for a maiden title and to go one better than last year, when they lost out at this stage to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Thunder claimed the top seed in the West with a league-best 68-14 record, while Minnesota were sixth with a 49-33 record.
The Timberwolves may have finished 19 games behind OKC but there was little to separate these teams in their head-to-head meetings, with these sides 2-2 in their regular season series.
Tip 1 – Minnesota Timberwolves - Conference Winner @ 11/4
Oklahoma are the clear favourites to win this series – and deservedly so – but Minnesota may be able to pull off a minor upset.
Minnesota will be desperate to go one better after last year’s heartache. The T-Wolves took out the Phoenix Suns and then defending champions the Denver Nuggets last season, only to fall short against Luka Doncic and the Mavs in the Conference Finals.
The Timberwolves have taken a bit of revenge this year by seeing off Doncic’s new team, the Lakers, but that won’t have erased the pain of missing out on the Finals in 2024 and they have a real chance to go one better this time round.
Minnesota have played a game less than OKC after two five-game series and they come flying into Game 1 after four straight wins over the Golden State Warriors.
The Timberwolves have also had a few extra days to prepare, while the Thunder completed their seven-game series with Denver on Sunday and face a quick turnaround.
The Thunder may have a far superior regular-season record but, in terms of the battles between these two teams, there was little to separate them. Both claimed two wins each with Minnesota winning the most recent meeting, an overtime win at the Paycom Center in February.
OKC also had to dig deep to overcome Denver after falling 2-1 behind, while Minnesota raised their levels to claim four straight wins over the Warriors after losing the opener.
Minnesota need at least one road win to take this series but they know they can win as the away team against the Thunder after their regular season success.
As underdogs, the sixth seeds look backable.
Tip 2 – Anthony Edwards Western Conference Finals MVP @ 7/2
If Minnesota do win this series it seems almost inevitable that Anthony Edwards will be the Western Conference Finals MVP.
Edwards is the Timberwolves’ talisman and he’s picked up some incredible series wins over the last couple of years with this team.
Last year, he led his side to a win over Jokic’s Denver, the then-defending champions, and this year he’s taken out Golden State and a Lakers team boasting both Doncic and LeBron James.
Edwards is averaging 26.5 points per game in the playoffs – slightly lower than his regular-season figure but he is up in both assists and rebounds so it is fair to say his levels have been raised in the postseason.
If Minnesota win this series, Edwards will be the architect for their success and he is a clear contender for the Magic Johnson Trophy.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation