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Minnesota Faces Crucial Game Thee in NBA Western Finals
SportsGrid
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5/24/2025
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Sports
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00:00
the NBA Western Conference Finals. We'll see the third game of this series and NBA history tells
00:05
us that this series is on the line tonight for Minnesota. The same will be true for the Knicks
00:10
in Game 3. Still yet to see anyone in NBA history come back from a 3-0 series deficit. The bright
00:17
side for Minnesota is a much shorter line than I think maybe some would have anticipated. Certainly
00:24
a lot shorter than the numbers that we saw when the games were in Oklahoma City. Down to just a
00:28
two-and-a-half point number here. The Thunder still booked as a favorite. Total right now
00:32
218. JY, break this game down. Yeah, I think it comes down to is can we get the performances
00:38
that we talked about, particularly the big three of Minnesota. Now, obviously going back
00:42
home, you expect your team to shoot better, particularly the role guys that Tom referred
00:49
to at Alexander Walkers and not Reed and Mike Conley's. Rudy Gobert, if they play. He shoots?
00:54
Yeah, if they get him the ball. I still remember Rudy Gobert getting the ball in the post of the
00:59
Olympics in like 2016. I'm like, what's Quint Slater doing? They're going to give this
01:04
guy the ball. Well, it's still seven, eight years later and they still don't give it to
01:08
him. That's a story for another day. But this has got to be the best chance we have here
01:13
for Minnesota. So, I don't think they're getting swept. I could see a pathway that they win
01:20
today. They lose game four and they get blown out in game five. Absolutely. I'm going to
01:25
take a chance on Minnesota on the money line to get the win today and I'm going to go over
01:30
because I do think they're going to shoot the ball much better at home. So, coming into
01:36
this game, you know, I'm agreeing with you. Like, I think five games is at best case scenario
01:41
for Minnesota is what we happen. But in order for that to happen is like what is what is
01:46
like the path? It's like they got to come out strong. So, whether it's a first half
01:50
that you want to be looking to, which I, you know, the more and more I think about
01:54
something I like first quarter, it has to be a strong start for them. If they're down
01:58
by, you know, alluding to your Larry Holmes kind of take from before, if they're down
02:03
by eight at halftime, they don't win this. There's no way they win this game. They just
02:07
don't have the offense that can go toe-to-toe with the Thunder combined with their
02:12
defense to put them in a spot to win if they're down at halftime. So, if you want
02:15
to get the, I think it's half point for the first quarter and it's a one and a half
02:18
points for the first half, I feel a little more comfortable with the first half, but
02:22
they got to come out strong. And whether it's looking to specifically Julius Randle
02:27
first quarter, something that I was just, you know, looking at during the break, he
02:30
had, based on where he ended that game, four and a half points from Randle in the
02:34
first quarter, you got to get him going early. He's got to score. He's got to be a
02:38
threat. It can't all be ants. No, it certainly can't. This is going to be a team that I
02:44
think today shoots a ton of threes. That market's not out just yet, but Minnesota
02:47
teammate threes is something I'll take a look at when it does come available. Yeah.
02:52
Just, I think it's a little bit hard to slice down where the bounce backs will
02:56
specifically come from. But if you take a look at last game, you got one of nine
03:00
from Anthony Edwards, one of four from Mike Conley, O of three Randle, and then O of
03:04
five Nas Reed. You don't care who it is. Let's just get some shots up. Yeah. I think
03:08
any of those guys could certainly step up and have themselves a better
03:10
performance here. I actually think the pathway for Minnesota in this series is, can we get
03:16
to one 20 more so than we're going to win a tough nose, ugly game that over, they got
03:22
to, they have to push your face. Come on really quick. Cause I know you've talked about
03:26
Lou Dort. Yeah. Like if I, if I am, if I am Chris French and I'm looking at them and
03:33
I'm like, okay, if, if I'm not going to let SGA beat me, like I'm worried about Joe
03:37
Williams, like to me, Lou Dort seven and a half points, like he's going to get the
03:42
shot volume. So he should be able to get there for two made threes. We're at minus
03:46
one 15. Usually all of his scoring will come from beyond the arc. He made two of
03:51
seven last game. He was only one of three in the opening game. But if you look at
03:54
Lou Dort throughout this post season, the volume is there. It's his role for this
03:58
team. You could certainly suggest that on the road, he is not to be as trusted, but
04:04
against Denver in the two road games that they, the last two road games, he was
04:09
two of 10, two of seven. Again, the thing for Dort, he has not had a good
04:14
performance from beyond the arc in this post season. If you look, he's basically
04:18
been a 40% three-point shooter the last two years in the regular season. These
04:22
playoffs, he's at 28%. There's a world that Lou Dort could give you, let's say
04:29
this series just, I know you don't, let's just say this series goes six. He could
04:33
give you four makes in three of those games. It's really on the board, I think
04:39
because he is due for, the volume's not dropping. The efficiency is. And that's
04:44
a balance between so many players where it's like, they can be super efficient, but
04:48
they may not always have the volume with Dort. The chances will be there. The
04:53
space will be there. It's a matter of him just knocking down the shots that he's
04:56
given. 100%. 100%. For me, as far as an outright winner in this game, I find
05:02
myself slightly leaning towards OKC just because I think that there is a level
05:06
of, you know, blood in the water for them right now. Absolutely. I think they know
05:11
they messed around a little bit with Denver. I feel fine saying that. I don't
05:15
think that's disrespectful to the Nuggets. The Thunder were significantly better
05:19
than that team. They won one game by 40 and they closed them out by 30 plus. They
05:24
just had these lapses and I think that they kind of have learned from that a
05:27
little bit. They've had some of those third quarters that remind you a little bit
05:31
of the Warriors when they used to avalanche teams and obviously OKC's done
05:35
that now and, you know, two consecutive games to open this series. But the
05:40
side in this one is, you know, so far it's 2-0 OKC. I've not seen a side yet
05:48
where I go clear and obvious. You know, I lean Minnesota game one, lost.
05:53
Leaned OKC game two, got it. I lean OKC here again, but it's not
05:58
bounced off of the page.
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