Western semifinals preview

NO. 6 TIMBERWOLVES VS. NO. 7 WARRIORS

The Warriors topped the Wolves in three outta four regular season games, featuring some rather disparate lineups. Andrew Wiggins managed two starts, expected, but Dennis Schröder started twice, that was this season. Trayce Jackson-Davis started twice, wild, so did Jonathan Kuminga.

The Minnesota Timberwolves started Minnesota Timberwolves, the normal people, people we remember, not Gui Santos. Gui Santos started for the Warriors against the Timberwolves on Jan. 15, the Warriors won by one. Kyle Anderson started for the Warriors against the Timberwolves on Dec. 21, the Warriors won by ten.

If I said Dorell Wright started for the Warriors on November 31st you'd be like, hey, I'm not entirely sure if November has a thirty-first day, I'm gonna turn around and check my phone to make certain, pretend I'm looking at my schedule when instead I'm scrolling the calendar back to November 2024 to see if had a thirty-first day. And hey wait Dorell Wright, no way, I just saw that.

So, yes, the Warriors beat Minnesota three times out of four and then traded for Jimmy Butler, but many things have changed since then.

Not Kyle Anderson. Stayin' the same.

MINNESOTA

I'm sorry I said everyone up in Minneapolis drives in the left-hand lane, more than any other place I've ever been to.

Maybe it was just an anecdotal thing that happened six out of my last six times I've driven through there.

C: Rudy Gobert – averaged a chunky 35 minutes per game against the Warriors in the regular season, all four contests. Kinda already over whatever he and Draymond Green have planned.

F: Julius Randle – no reason why this can't keep rumbling, if the Warriors have to move Green onto Randle the rest of the defense falls apart. Has the ability, size and smarts to outclass Jimmy Butler's box score, offensive impact. Against Golden State's committed smaller lineups Julius should be able to see the floor quite well, even with Gobert out there gunking up Julius' paint.
F: Jaden McDaniels – turned it over once in 136 minutes against Golden State this year, can't be made redundant against GSW's tiny-man outfits.
SG: Anthony Edwards – 61 percent True Shooting against Golden State, four turnovers per game. Golden State will make him want a ice bath at halftime.
PG: Mike Conley – 32 percent against Golden State this season but who cares, left-handed, gets right on that other guy's shooting hand, pun intended.

Donte DiVincenzo played well offensively against his former team this season, the Warriors can be beat from outside and from the line, Donte can make a difference here ... Naz Reid could really crush in this series if he picks his spots, hopefully he defends well enough to stay on the court ... Nickeil Alexander-Walker does a lot of the all-around, low-to-the-ground work Jimmy Butler enjoys, I hope they match up in this series, I hope NAW (9-34 from the field thus far, worst turnover rate on the Timberwolves) turns his postseason around.

Basketball will become tougher as the series moves along for Minnesota, Golden State will find angles to clamp down on, areas to encourage the Wolves to dribble into.

Minnesota has enough to outlast Golden State, depth and free throws, and there is always the chance the Warriors kick the game away. But Minnesota must be patient, develop the sort of balance it takes to not try to win four games in one game. When they know they're at least eight wins away from where they want to be. The goal can look so far away, don't let it.

That's what Anthony Edwards is for! He'll keep them curious.

GOLDEN STATE

C: Draymond Green – he apologized to his fellow Warriors in a team meeting the night before Game 7 for his 42nd flagrant foul, and frankly I'd like to see Draymond turning a new and obvious leaf after every game in this series, real broad strokes, like when 'MacGruber' sketches show him wearing increasingly silly outfits. Francophile stuff, appreciation of Gen-Z culture and its burdens and Anthony Edwards' fit inside it, an entire podcast dedicated to the serenity of Mike Conley, "if Rudy Garza was on the Bulls he'd average 20 a game." To the point where they need another team meeting.

This series is not a minefield for Green, his task remains the same, Singletary-esque linebacking duties plus the hope his jumper goes in. He worked wonderfully against Houston in Game 7, save for slapping someone, and could bedevil the Timberwolves.
F: Jimmy Butler – before Timberwolves fans grow upset and restless and begin booing Jimmy Butler for his role in submarining Minnesota's first postseason team in two decades, please remind yourselves that the Timberwolves still have the draft rights to Matteo Spagnolo as a result of the Jimmy Butler trade.

Matteo Spagnolo!

Butler hitting 37-44 free throws in six games against Houston's fourth-ranked defense was massive, his Game 7 performance a study in steady. Can the Warriors be the first team to win a title with a 16-12 playoff record? If Jimmy Butler is allowed to sit one game per series, yes.
F/G: Buddy Hield – Buddy Hield's Game 6 (0-4) and Game 7 (12-15) performance was a study in Buddy. Hit 9-13 on twos and 13-29 on threes (45 percent) in four outings against the Timberwolves in the regular season, Buddy bit them, they remember.
G: Brandin Podziemski – played well on or off the bench against Minnesota in the regular season. I think he hired Alperen Şengün's barber to come to his hotel room mid-series for a haircut but the barber declined because he heard Podziemski was sick. The barber felt way better after hearing what happened to Gary Payton II.

BP is just straaangy and unorthodox enough to sneak into scoring lanes. The game slowed down for him against Houston, even if the shots didn't stay down.
PG: Stephen Curry – invented straaangy, years ago in college. Averaged 29 a game on 44/46/89 in four contests against the Timberwolves this season so, that works. Played against Ramon Sessions and Brian Cardinal in his first game against the Timberwolves in 2009:

The lone Curry highlight in this clip is Stephen's tender ankles running downcourt and lofting an alley-oop to Corey Maggette, who graduated high school the same year I did.

Quinten Post can't get away with simply sopping up minutes, the Timberwolves will make him shoot or make plays and Post (32 percent from the floor against Houston on an assorted array of misses from all over the floor, 17 fouls in 119 minutes) could make a major difference in this series breaking up Minnesota's best-laid plans. QP not play against Minnesota this season but somehow current Detroit Pistons guard Lindy Waters III did, repeatedly, working long stretches (18 minutes per game) of not-great (20 percent from the floor) basketball for the Warriors against the Timberwolves, three regular season appearances.

Moses Moody has the right idea but way too quickly ... Gary Payton II needs to be on TV when all this is all over ... Against Minnesota we will see Kevon Looney and hear Stan Van Gundy's obsession with his league-leading (if he played enough minutes) offensive rebounding rate ... Gui Santos is not a Piston and Steve Kerr is always looking for someone to stretch the floor (who isn't Jonathan Kuminga) so Gui could see minutes.

I would like to see Jonathan Kuminga try and earn three fouls on one play from Rudy Gobert.

Steve Kerr hates Jonathan Kuminga nearly as much as Derrick Coleman and Derrick Coleman once tried to murder Steve Kerr with Derrick's own ass.

“I thought it could have been avoided, but you have to ask him,” Kerr said. “I’m sure he’ll say that he wasn’t trying to do anything.”

No foul was called, and while Kerr was writhing on the floor in pain, the Bulls were whistled for a 24-second violation.

Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who already had a technical foul, called the referees “gutless” when they failed to call a foul on Coleman.

“When I reviewed it, I was very surprised that a foul wasn’t called. But there’s something about the NBA: When the 24-second clock starts running down, they stop refereeing. I really was amazed they didn’t call anything.”

So were Kerr’s teammates.

“It looked flagrant to me,” said center Luc Longley. “(The foul) looked after the fact to me. I’m surprised more wasn’t said of it.”

I could not find reaction to Phil Jackson calling NBA referees "gutless" in 1998 but I did find this:

The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $10,000 for calling ref Jack Nies
"a gutless official who holds grudges" following his ejection in Friday's
Orl-Hou game.

Jack Nies is, of course, the father of Eric From the Grind. Who is not our Transportation Secretary.

Barkley knew he'd receive a fine from the NBA, though with media in its pre-digital form he was at least given a day's respite before earning the buzz:

"Ya'll print that because I want the N.B.A. to call me."

They did!

Wolves and Warriors?

TUE, THU, SAT, MON, WED, SUN, TUE

Some 1500 miles separate these teams, this will be a haul. Minnesota could win it shortly, their bigs nailing the three-pointers from the corner the Houston bigs missed.

Golden State's room for growth intrigues, this group is only getting started, its aging core deserves space for a proper run. The Rockets played as if they agreed with this, Minnesota will not.

The Timberwolves are the fuller, more developed group. Intrigue abounds once Minnesota's shooting goes south, and it will go south, but if the Wolves contest well and make the extra pass, Minnesota should thrive. Because they contest well, make the extra pass.

Minnesota in seven

HOUSTON

Every single bit of quoted dialogue tweeting out of Houston at the moment is the most endearing, sweetest stuff I've ever heard. You wouldn't know I was so angry at these young men on Sunday, denying me the Game 7 classic we'd hoped for.

Nah, Houston wasn't ready. Wasn't ready throughout the series and wasn't ready for Game 7, its third quarter, the permanence of a door slamming shut for the final time. They thought they could re-open it but no, we told you it was shut.

The exasperation abates once the Rockets start talking, once they reminded us what was obvious throughout Game 7. How old are these guys, even?

“Besides the (second) home game, s—,” Jalen Green said when asked to assess his performance in the series. “Straight s—. I got to be better. First playoffs is no excuse. Yeah, I’ve got to be better.”

Come on. Who could get angry at that. I'd trade Jalen for a second-round pick, sure, but I'm not angry at Jalen.

Or at Alperen Şengün, who talked a big game before the Big Game:

“I learned a lot. First time in the playoffs, for me. Aggressiveness in defense, play both ways. Just try to win, try to help my teammates. I learned real basketball."

“We learned how to play together. We played a team over and over seven times. So, just trying to stay together, talk every day. It was just a hard series for us.”

“I think I improved my defense this season, but I have to work a lot more on my offense. I didn’t have a great year on offense. I was even better last year, I would say. I’m just going to focus on that, on my body, my touch, everything. A long summer is waiting for me. So, I have a lot to do.”

Maybe, but not before you get over here so I can tousle that broccoli haircut of yours.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka asked his club not to be satisfied in the wake of Game 7's loss, and that's a good way of putting it. The West's recent history is littered with one-year wonders, these Rockets weren't ever going to be one, but no seeding is guaranteed in the West.

This may change. The West is aging, it may be easier for a club like Houston to sustain in ways which Sacramento, New Orleans, Portland and Memphis could not. None of those teams punched all the way up to a No. 2 seed, but 52 wins could be the No. 8 seed in 2025-26, Udoka's club can't be satisfied and it shouldn't feel settled. They're one of many, now. Just another great team in the West.

With the warming caveat that, outside of OKC, who has a brighter future than the Rockets?

Amen Thompson is special. Different and special and great. If Jalen Green isn't there, it'll be someone else. If Tari Eason and Jabari Smith are too costly, they'll split with one, doesn't matter, they have the center and they have Amen.

And room in the salary structure to work major deals, and draft picks.

Fred VanVleet's team option ($44.8 million for 2025-26) is due to be picked up by the end of the week, Rockets fans will have an idea even before the lottery (they own the rights to Phoenix's pick, odds-on for No. 9) of how much their favorite team wants to retool.

It was really nice of the NBA's most trade-worthy team to schedule its most pressing option for so soon after their season's end. There are only eight teams playing at the moment, none of us are above leering at a fake NBA trades.

I'm not exactly sure what the Rockets require, outside of more time. They need Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün to be better, not for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant to show up. If someone like Durant shows, great. The Rockets will not give up much to get him, but the asset shift will make it more difficult for the Rockets to prepare for when the incoming aging superstar steps aside.

There are no rules here, sometimes the addition star works, sometimes the star doesn't. History should not be an indicator nor an influence, though I would encourage the Rockets to embrace recency bias: Houston's depth made it potent in 2024-25, in ways beyond Amen Thompson's ascension.

The Rockets were without wile in this first round loss, but that doesn't mean they need a cerebral superstar to set a mood. Doesn't mean they should shun the idea entirely, either. I'd have to gawk at the fake trade, first.

My opinion? Houston's lack of size in the backcourt was exposed by Golden State and the team should encourage a max contract sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls for Josh Giddey.

The Bulls will take nobody in exchange, no Jalen Green or even Jeff Green, just take Josh Giddey. Take him. Please take Josh Giddey.

GAME ONE REACTIONS

Knicks won, Pacers won, Nuggets won. All road teams, because the NBA is really good this season.

Knicks, way to hang in there. That was not surprising in the least. All the Knicks do is hang in there.

Boston, what can I say but live by the Threesley, die by the Threesley.

He doesn't look that way on the local broadcasts but in TNT's lighting Mikal Bridges wearing No. 25 always reminds me of Doc Rivers, especially since Bridges cut his hair short.

Reggie Miller is a big-time announcer and I'm glad he's around.

Boston didn't just miss long shots, they missed a lot of shots. New York worked up fantastic defense.

Please stop making athletes talking between quarters, let them sit down, let them rest.

Pacers column later this week.

I haven't been on social media all night but I bet the internet really wants Russell Westbrook to win a title and I am there with him. Millennials are swooning the way Boomers swooned in 1982 over Dr. J. and yes I am aware this is only the Conference semis.

If you let Jokic stare at the rim, he will make the shot.

DON'T ASK

Thanks for reading!