The Minnesota Timberwolves will battle the San Antonio Spurs in a pivotal Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night. But even if the Timberwolves win two out of the next three games and earn their third straight trip to the conference finals, they will be facing a tall task when they get there.
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished off the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, completing a four-game sweep with a 115-110 victory. The win was also a fitting conclusion to a series where the Lakers never seemed to have a chance against the defending NBA champions, and the Thunder are now the juggernaut the Timberwolves need to conquer if they want to make a deeper run into the playoffs.
Thunder loom as final boss if Timberwolves advance over Spurs
The Thunder have rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs, compiling a perfect 8-0 record against the Phoenix Suns and Lakers. Oklahoma City also hasn’t been just getting by with the skin of their teeth, compiling an average margin of victory of 16.6 points over their first eight games.
Oklahoma City’s dominance is one thing. But there are also some mental gymnastics that come with facing the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and could be in line to win it a second time with his performance this season. But his antics to draw fouls infuriate opponents. Chris Finch has openly discussed the frustrations of going up against Shai.
The Thunder also have a strong supporting cast behind Gilgeous-Alexander, headlined by Chet Holmgren. And Oklahoma City hasn’t even been at full strength with Jalen Williams sidelined with wrist and hamstring injuries.
This doesn’t even take into account the previous history between the Wolves and Thunder. While the Wolves had experience on their side in their second straight conference finals appearance last year, the Thunder outclassed them in a 4-1 series victory.
Oklahoma City also had an average margin of victory of 18.2 points per game in that series, but it didn’t stop Minnesota from bringing back the majority of its roster to try and make another run.
To some degree, it worked as the Wolves split their four games with the Thunder this year. But that was a drastically different team. Donte DiVincenzo is out with a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the first round, and Ayo Dosunmu is also battling through a calf injury that has sapped his explosiveness.
While Anthony Edwards has returned and been effective, he’s also playing with two bad knees which could leave a shorthanded squad battling a team that is the class of the NBA.
Of course, the Wolves have to get there first and that’s a tall task against Victor Wembanyama and a full-strength Spurs team. Even if Minnesota has held the “Give me harder battles” vibe throughout the playoffs, there’s a good chance they’ll get one in the final three games against San Antonio and a potential showdown with the Thunder.
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