Wolves need Anthony Edwards to show up and show out
The second half of game 1 was all Oklahoma City as the Thunder dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves to take a 1-0 series lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 second-half points and 31 overall in the Thunder’s 114-88 victory. Since then, he’s also been named league MVP. Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, scored just 18 points on a paltry 5-of-13 shooting night.
The Thunder play stifling defense, and can do it up and down the lineup, sending new shifts like hockey teams to torment opposing teams. The Timberwolves will have to navigate a high level of defensive pressure and the need to execute nearly flawlessly to create the kind of offense that will allow them to keep pace with the Thunder. On defense, the Wolves will need to neutralize OKC’s pair of big men in Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. If they are able to do that, it doesn’t exactly solve the Thunder, but it does make them much less dynamic and unpredictable.
Game Vitals
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Watch: ESPN, ESPN News
Odds: Thunder -8
Projected Starters
Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein
Minnesota Timberwolves (0-1)
Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert