This year’s Western Conference Finals wraps up after a complete demolition by the Oklahoma City Thunders over the Minnesota Timberwolves in game 5, giving the team their first ticket to the NBA Finals since 2013. On the other hand, despite the loss, Anthony Edwards gave a hilarious but spot-on statement on how the Thunder was too much of an opponent.
Fifteen Puppets, One String
After losing by thirty in the close out game 5, 124-94, Edwards didn’t hold back and shared to the media how it feels like playing against OKC. In his own words, Ant-Man described the Thunder’s defense like “fifteen puppets on a string”, implying how exceptional they move as a unit, especially on the defensive end. This statement also sums up how good OKC’s teamwork and cohesion is right now.
In game 5, the No.1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder got 14 steals and 8 blocks as a team and forced the Timberwolves to 21 total turnovers. Most importantly, they weren’t allowing opposing players to get to their spot, especially Edwards. They also incredibly disabled Jaden McDaniels, who shot 2-of-13 from the field. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert was basically useless against Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein after only producing 2 points in 20 minutes.
Julius Randle played a good game, putting up 24 points and 5 rebounds, but it was far from being enough for the Wolves, with Edwards shooting another terrible 7-of-18.
Oklahoma prides itself as the best defensive team in the league right now. Throughout the WCF series, they’ve been good at containing Edwards to less than 20 points in three of the five games. OKC’s most notable result came in game 4 when Lu Dort and Alex Caruso took turns in clamping Anthony Edwards and not giving even an inch to the Timberwolves’ offense.
Obviously, the Thunder’s big time defensive stops in this series were the key factor in their deep playoff run this year, but the job isn’t done yet. They’re back in the NBA Finals after 13 years, and this time around, they’re likely going to get their hands on the Larry O’Brien trophy with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the helm.
However, they’ll have to beat whoever wins between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks first. That being said, will their unparalleled defense work against the overachieving Pacers or an elite Knicks squad?
What’s Next for the Timberwolves?
There’s nothing left to do but move forward, regroup, and hope the front office makes some moves to improve the Wolves. This is already their second-straight Conference Finals appearance, which both ended in disappointment. Although Anthony Edwards can most definitely be the face of the franchise, there’s still a lot of work to do before Minnesota becomes a title favorite.
