The Oklahoma City Thunder are difficult favorites because they organize the first game of the Western Conference final on Tuesday.
While the Thunder depends on Denver on Sunday, the Timberwolves have not played since Golden State removed six days ago.
Opportunities & trends
The thunder is a consensus of 7.5 points favorites. This includes loss values in which the Timberwolves were a popular outsider with 67 percent of the tickets and 69 percent of the money that support them to cover.
The over on the 216.5-point overall bed line has drawn 92 percent of the money. Despite each of the last four playoff games from Minnesota, in which they entered the overall point line as an outsider.
Prop -picks
-Aalex caruso 2+ 3-point FGS Made (+110 at fertilization): Caruso has launched at least two three-point hands in four of the last five games of the Thunder. It offers an even more tempting payment at +280 to reach three or more on Tuesday evening.
-Julius Randle over 19.5 points (-125 at Draftkings): Randle has a 29-point effort in the game 5 Minnesota’s victory over Golden State and an average of 25.2 points for the series. After an average of 22.6 points against the Lakers in the previous series, Randle scored more than 20 points in eight out of ten playoff games.
Playoff story
The Timberwolves are in the conference final for the second time in a row and the third time in their history. Minnesota never went to the NBA final.
Oklahoma City has been in the Western Conference final for the first time since 2016 and has been looking for the first NBA final since 2012.
Feel defensive
The series contains two of the top defense of the NBA, both during the regular season and in the playoffs.
In 11 Playoff games, The Thunder has a defensive assessment of 101.6 defensive – points per 100 possessions – best in this off -season. Minnesotas 106.8 Defensive rating is the second.
New era of the stars
The Matchup also shows two of the best young stars of the league in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by Oklahoma City and Anthony Edwards from Timberwolves.
Gilgeous-Alexander has an average of 29.0 points, 6.4 assists and 5.9 rebounds in this post-season, while Edwards achieved an average of 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the leader for valuable players, is looking forward to the Matchup against Cousin Nickeil Alexander Walker from Minnesota.
The two players were born in Toronto for less than two months and both visited the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga.
“It will be very fun,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “It is difficult to explain. If you know how close we are, he is literally like my second brother. He went through every phase of life with me – and gets a basketball to go to the preparation of the NBA.
“But I’m sure to take off his head.”
In a game of 2023, Alexander Walker helped keep his cousin to a 5-of-19 shot night.
Alexander Walker said that Gilgeous-Alexander’s consistency brought him to another level.
“It comes from diligence, hard work, the vision of first-hand and discipline that I honestly saw in anyone else,” said Alexander Walker. “I didn’t see discipline like his. I think that’s the main reason why people believe that he made a jump if he could be really consistent because he was so disciplined in his approach.”
Seasonal series
The teams divided their season series with four games and divided their two games in Oklahoma City.
Minnesotas Rudy Gobert only played in one of these games – a New Year’s Eve – while Chet Holmgren appeared in two of the games for the thunder.
“Apple to apples, I don’t know if these games are the perfect framework to look at the series,” said Thunder coach Mark Daignault. “It will be different.”
FORECAST
The Timberwolves covered the spread in 16 of their past 17 games as an outsider when they play loudly with a resting advantage. While Minnesota is difficult in game 1 to upset a massive street, they are not surprised that they are covered. –Ther 116, Timberwolves 110
-Media on the Level field
