The stage is set for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between two of the biggest young stars in the NBA.
Anthony Edwards leads the Minnesota Timberwolves against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. via ESPN. Edwards averaged 26.2 points per game in the conference semifinals versus Golden State, while Alexander totaled 29.7 points per matchup in OKC’s semifinal series against Denver.
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Edwards has a chance to lead Minnesota to its first-ever Larry O’Brien trophy.
Watch: Anthony Edwards weight lifting video surfaces ahead of WC Finals
SGA could lead the Thunder to its first title since 1979, when the franchise was in Seattle as the Supersonics. Ric Bucher, an NBA analyst for Fox Sports 1, sees the Thunder’s defense as a problem for Edwards. He detailed his reasoning on The Herd/with Colin Cowherd.
“[Minnesota] had two gentlemen sweeps and that might lead them to believe they’re playing great basketball… I haven’t seen that.”
“He averaged five points below his average against OKC in the regular season,” Bucher said of Edwards.
“He only shot 36 percent against them. OKC has been without question the No. 1 defense in the postseason. They have a lot of bodies they can throw at him, but they can also confuse the floor and that is traditionally where Ant has problems. He has problems figuring out what specifically is the defense doing in these situations. It tends to make him tentative.”
Bucher also feels that OKC has played better postseason competition.
“[Minnesota] had two gentlemen sweeps and that might lead them to believe they’re playing great basketball… I haven’t seen that,” he said.
We will see if the Thunder can create all sorts of problems for Edwards in game one.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him on X via @CoachingMSmith.
