By Joel Perez 
Tonight’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves is going to be an interesting one, considering what it means for both teams. For Minnesota, it’s do or die—an elimination game where they either win or go home. The Timberwolves have to win the next three games to survive and, more importantly,to make the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
For the Thunder, it’s about closing the deal. Whether it’s tonight at home or sometime over the next three games, all they need is one more win to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2013—when a young core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden faced off against Miami’s Big Three.
At the time, it was wild to see such a young team break through like that. Every NBA fan and talking head believed the Thunder had a decade-long window to dominate. But as we know, the summer of 2013 changed everything. After their Finals appearance, OKC traded James Harden—an eventual MVP—to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks (which became Steven Adams and Mitch McGary), and a second-rounder.
That trade basically marked the beginning of the end for that hopeful OKC core. They never made it back to the Finals. KD left for the Warriors, and eventually, Russ joined Harden in Houston.
Fast forward past some excruciating years of tanking and collecting draft assets—and I mean a war chest of them—and the Thunder are now one win away from the Finals. Led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and flanked by two rising stars in Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, OKC is looking like a problem for years to come. Jalen made his first All-Star appearance this year and earned All-NBA Third Team honors. Chet, who missed his true rookie season due to injury, came back strong and helped OKC secure the No. 1 seed in the West. And if it weren’t for another unfortunate injury earlier in the regular season that made him miss a good chunk of time, Chet might have become a first-time All-Star as well, all things considered.
Regardless, Sam Presti has built a sustainable contender. Shai, JDub, and Chet form the core, and the Thunder still have more draft assets than they know what to do with. They can build through the draft or make trades—flexibility on top of talent. As for Minnesota, Game 4 wasn’t kind to Anthony Edwards. He didn’t look like himself, taking only two shots in the first half. Even though guys like Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jaden McDaniels all scored over 20, it wasn’t enough to overcome OKC’s Big Three. Shai dropped 40. Jalen added 34. Chet chipped in 21 and 7—and sealed the game with a huge block at the end that shut the door on any Timberwolves comeback.
Personally, I’d love to see the Julius Randle we saw in Game 3. And obviously, Ant has to show up. It’s simply not acceptable for your franchise star—your best offensive weapon—to only take two shots by halftime in a playoff game. I’m hoping Minnesota’s top two offensive playmakers bounce back tonight. And yeah, God willing, we get an extension of this series. Ant has to show up—and in a huge way.
And don’t worry, Julius Randle, we haven’t forgotten about you either. Both of them need to show up if the Wolves want any shot at extending this series. Let’s see what happens.
Angel Rivera