After a grueling seven-game series with the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder carried the positive momentum into the Western Conference Finals and took care of business at home fairly easily.
While I expected the Minnesota Timberwolves to play well at home in Game 3, to quote Caine from Menace II Society, “Damn, I never thought he’d come back like this, blasting.”
Minnesota shot 57.3% from the field and drained half of its 40 attempts from downtown. The Timberwolves finished with 19 more rebounds and six more offensive ones. They dished out 11 more dimes, turned the ball over five fewer times and scored 14 more points in the paint. Their largest lead was 45 points and the final score was 143-101.
Now we get to see how the Thunder respond to adversity. During the regular season, OKC only had two losing streaks, with both of those two games.
DraftKings Sportsbook has OKC as 3.5-point favorites over MIN on the road with the total at 218.5.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $500K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (OKC at MIN)
Captain’s Picks
Jalen Williams ($14,100 CP): I went with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Game 1. Check. Anthony Edwards was the choice for Game 2. Check. Now I’m cycling to Jalen Williams. With the best perimeter defender likely to be on Gilgeous-Alexander, I think it’s Williams’ time to shine. It’s not that much of an ask because he put up 26 points, 10 rebounds and a steal in Game 2, good for 50.5 FPTS. In the first two games of this series, Williams hoisted 18 and 20 shots, so the opportunities will be there. He only played 25 minutes in Game 3 due to a blowout. I expect this game to be uber-competitive, so all the main pieces should play in the mid-to-high 30s. In addition, the price allows me to fit more players I want.
UTIL Plays
Aaron Wiggins ($1,000): More than likely, Wiggins will only play 10 minutes and score single-digit FPTS. The chances of a ceiling game are muted, but that’s not why I’m rostering him. He’s very cheap and the playing time floor isn’t bad for the price. Since the closeout game against Memphis, Wiggins has received at least 10 minutes in 11 straight games. He’s put up double-digit FPTS in six of those contests with a high of 24.5 FPTS. Wiggins can get blistering hot at times so, while the chances of a ceiling game are muted, it’s still within the range of outcomes.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($3,600): The Value Du Jour is no longer priced below $3,000. Sadness. He still has a good shot of paying off the price, though. He only played 18 minutes in Game 3, but that was due to a blowout. He played 28 and 25 minutes in the first two contests and has attempted nine, eight and 11 shots in the three contests. His size, defensive versatility and ability to drain the open jumper should provide a high playing time floor. The ownership has been very high, though.
Anthony Edwards ($11,200): Since the opening 35.25 FPTS dud, Edwards has put up 54.75 FPTS in each of the last two games. The last one in only 30 minutes! He scored at least 30 points in both contests while dishing out six dimes and grabbing nine boards in both. He’s locked in right now, is the alpha of the Timberwolves offense and should feast in what will likely be a close and competitive game.
Fades
Chet Holmgren ($13,200): Holmgren can get out in transition and spread the floor in the halfcourt, but he doesn’t garner a high usage rate and likely won’t score over 20 points. He also won’t dish out many dimes. The main bugaboo, though, is that he’s grabbed a total of 16 rebounds through three games. Rudy Gobert is one reason why, while the other is that he’s hanging out on the perimeter most of the time. The defensive stats haven’t been abundant either. Since putting up 34.25 FPTS in the series opener, Holmgren has failed to exceed 30 FPTS in each of the last two games.
THE OUTCOME
Props to Minnesota for playing well in Game 3. OKC looked like a deer in headlights and could not respond. I expect the Thunder to answer in a big way, especially on the defensive end. I think this is going to be a highly entertaining and competitive game.
Final Score: Thunder 108, Timberwolves 105
