Time seems to be moving a bit faster nowadays. You open TikTok or X, and inside jokes shared between millions have somehow passed you by, artists you’ve never heard of are getting guest spots on Saturday Night Live, and there’s a new Marvel movie about a superhero your comic-collecting dad had never even heard of.
Things come and go at a breakneck pace (or maybe we’re all just growing up). The NBA is no exception. The dynasties of the Warriors, Spurs and Lakers are overgrown ruins and championship windows open and shut like the weather app on your phone when you’re at a party and don’t know what to say. Nothing stays the same in the NBA for too long anymore.
You wake up one morning and the Western Conference is run by Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — in an era that, two years ago, everyone expected would be dominated by the back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic.
Time isn’t meant to stand still; it moves whether you like it or not. Who knows how long the Thunder and Timberwolves may sit at the top, but they’re here now, and their presence is just a microcosm of how quickly things can change in this day and age. We’re too quick to ascribe a “new era” to changing tides in the league once a new team makes it this far in the playoffs, but this is a new era nonetheless. Not one dominated by singular forces, but by parity, by change and by a constant power-struggle at the top.
Welcome to the new NBA. Welcome to the Western Conference Finals. Everything is moving at 200 m.p.h. Here’s how you can keep up.
Series schedule (all times ET):
Game 1: Tuesday, May 20 at 8:30 p.m.
Game 2: Thursday, May 22 at 8:30 p.m.
Game 3: Saturday, May 24 at 8:30 p.m.
Game 4: Monday, May 26 at 8:30 p.m.
*Game 5: Wednesday, May 28 at 8:30 p.m.
*Game 6: Friday, May 30 at 8:30 p.m.
*Game 7: Sunday, June 1 at 8 p.m.
The Thunder came into the season as everyone’s favourite for a reason. Fresh off a playoff disappointment against the Mavericks last year, they made savvy additions, shoring up their centre rotation with Isaiah Hartenstein and bringing in defensive menace Alex Caruso. They hit all the right buttons.
They were far and away the best team in the league during the regular season, finishing with the third-best offence and the best defence. They did so playing their own style of basketball, hounding teams with a Rolodex of defensive stoppers and running their offence through the iso-heavy, mid-range technician Gilgeous-Alexander.
It might have gone seven games against the Nuggets — chalk that up to playing against the best basketball player on Earth in Nikola Jokic — but the Thunder are coming into this showdown with the T-Wolves looking hot after beating Denver in Game 7 and reaffirming their status.
Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the final three games, averaging 32.7 points while putting up an absurd 70.6 true shooting percentage. Jalen Williams returned to form after stinkers in the three previous games, popping off for 24 points. Oh, and they somehow turned Caruso, a six-foot-five guard, into the Jokic stopper.
The Thunder are firing on all cylinders right now and the Oklahoma City crowd is juiced. They are who we thought they were.
Single-handedly, Anthony Edwards has sent the old generation of superstars to the nursing home. After crushing LeBron James and the Lakers in the first round, the T-Wolves followed it up with a dismantling of the Warriors in five games, albeit without Steph Curry.
Who knows how the series against Golden State would have gone had the last remaining member of the old guard been healthy, but knowing Edwards, he would’ve taken extra pleasure in sending them packing. He was everywhere doing everything, dominating the Warriors to the tune of 26.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
The definition of must-see TV, Edwards feels like the embodiment of Will Smith’s Hancock — a supernatural force well-aware of his marvels, the only human capable of flight, and an unrelenting physical force leaving behind devastation on dunks without regard for collateral damage.
The rest of the T-Wolves aren’t slouches either, as Julius Randle has enjoyed a post-season renaissance, Rudy Gobert has been a staunch presence in the paint, and the squad is littered with talented wing defenders. It’s not a fluke that they’re in the Western Conference Final for the second-straight year.
Thunder: Which version of Jalen Williams will OKC get?
Gilgeous-Alexander has been the Thunder’s metronome, consistently great and always on time. But for as good as he’s been, the Thunder still need that second option.
Jalen Williams struggled mightily in Games 4, 5 and 6 of the second round, averaging 11.3 points on a horrific 23.3 per cent from the field and 14.3 per cent from deep, and the Thunder — despite getting two wins in those games — followed suit. They didn’t look anything close to the offence that got them 68 wins. So while SGA is the best player on this squad, they come and go at the pace of their secondary scorer in Williams. In Thunder losses, he’s shooting 33.3 per cent from the field, but in wins, he’s at 48.8.
When he’s at his best, he uses his strong frame and quick burst to get to the rim and solid three-level scoring ability to ignite runs like he did in Game 7. If he gets targeted by the T-Wolves and can’t respond, the math that comes with Gilgeous-Alexander’s mid-range jumpers ultimately won’t add up.
Timberwolves: Can Julius Randle continue to impose his will?
In his two post-season runs with the Knicks, Julius Randle was a well-documented playoff dropper. In the 2020-21 season, he went from 24.1 points to 18.0, then in 2022-23 it got even worse, as he dropped from 25.1 to 16.6 a night. Couple that with the type of body language that would get you grounded as a kid, and it was apparent that, come May, Randle was a liability.
To see him magically turn into a playoff-riser with the T-Wolves is like watching Mitch Marner head to the Anaheim Ducks and score a hat-trick in a Game 7.
Randle has been stellar, averaging 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 50.9 per cent from the field and 34.5 per cent from deep. He’s transformed from the piñata to the candy inside the piñata, and much of it has to do with the confidence in his physicality, routinely putting his shoulder down on smaller defenders and taking easier looks at the rim to better set up his jump shot.
Randle’s renaissance could be the distinguishing factor for the T-Wolves against a smaller Thunder squad.
Holmgren has flown under the radar this post-season. While his scoring touch hasn’t been there, netting only 15.7 a night on 57.1 true shooting, his defence has been outstanding. His 0.9 defensive win shares are the most in the playoffs, and he’s putting up 2.2 blocks per game through 11 contests. But against the size and physicality that the T-Wolves present, his thin frame could get exposed.
In two games against Minnesota this season, the third-year big has a 119 defensive rating — his second-worst mark against any opponent. Patrolling the paint for the Thunder, he’ll be the target of aggressive drives from Randle and Edwards and pick-and-roll rim runs from Gobert.
Don’t expect Holmgren to take that lying down, however, as the former second-overall pick is well-known for his ferocity and defensive IQ. He’s found a way to get it done against the Nuggets and Grizzlies, and his ability to contribute in a help role as a roamer will be in play. He’s the last line of defence for the Thunder, and if he can shut down the inside, the size mismatch might not be as pronounced.
Jaden McDaniels is the head of the snake for Minnesota. The long, switchy wing will likely draw the unenviable task of guarding SGA. He won’t mind.
McDaniels has been a pest these playoffs, switching from Luka Doncic to LeBron James without missing a beat, then shutting down the mythical “Playoff Jimmy” Butler to stonewall the Warriors. He’s picking up 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while putting up a shut-down 108 defensive rating, 0.6 defensive win shares and 2.0 defensive box plus-minus. The T-Wolves are 18.9 points per 100 possessions better when McDaniels is on the court — easily the best mark of any of Minnesota’s starters.
Couple his defensive presence with some solid offensive contributions, like his 30-point explosion against the Lakers in Round 1 or his steady 13.4 a night against the Warriors, and it’s apparent that McDaniels has become Minnesota’s two-way cornerstone. His dependability will be key against the consistency of a guy like SGA.
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