After a blowout victory by Minnesota in Game 3, we should finally get a tightly contested Game 4 tonight. The Wolves' bench finally showed up a few nights ago and should once again play extremely well at home, where Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels can really do their damage on both ends of the floor.
As for OKC, expect big minutes from Caruso, Wiggins, and Wallace tonight, but be wary of Lu Dort as his offense has been a big problem for the Thunder in games where Shai can’t get it going on that end of the floor.
The Minnesota Timberwolves just dismantled the Thunder in Game 3. In a 42-point victory, the Wolves were up by 20 after the first quarter and then by 31 heading into halftime.
This game should be closer after three straight blowouts in this best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series. The tide is turning in both the WCF and ECF, and you can feel it. Edwards got the best of SGA last game, and the MVP knows it. With that being said, Minnesota is incredible at home. They are 5-1 at home in this postseason, with the bench really stepping up on both sides of the ball to maintain this record.
After Terrance Shannon Jr.’s big game alongside consistent performances from Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels, I think we will be going back to OKC with this series all knotted up.
Remember, Minnesota went down 0-3 in the Conference Finals last season to Dallas. They will learn from that mistake and get this game down to the last possession or two, where Edwards will take over.
Reid has hit this mark in 7/13 games in the postseason. The lanky stretch four isn’t afraid to take some transition 3s or catch and shoot 3s at any point in the ball game.
After playing just 19 minutes in the blowout win on Saturday, I’m banking on Naz playing around 25-30 minutes in this tightly contested ball game, where the focus will be on stopping Edwards from getting downhill as a scorer.
Reid made 2.4 3P per game at home this season while shooting it at a 40% clip. The 6th man will be a difference maker in this pivotal Game 4, and after cooling off in last year’s postseason from downtown, he will remain a factor from deep this time.
While taking the Lu Dort under isn’t the most exciting play, I simply think the Thunder staff prefer Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso this late in the postseason.
Dort has shot it less than 30% from deep in this postseason while scoring just under 8 PPG. While his defense is still incredible, OKC’s offense needs to adjust and be much better and more efficient in this ball game. Insert Caruso and Wallace, and Wiggins instead of Dort, and I think this problem is slightly solved.
Following their three losses in this postseason, Dort played 27/19/17 minutes in the following game, averaging much lower than his playoff average of 27 MPG.