Thunder-Timberwolves Game 2 Reaction: SGA & OKC EXTEND LEAD on Edwards & Minnesota | Nerd Sesh

Thunder-Timberwolves Game 2 Reaction: SGA & OKC EXTEND LEAD on Edwards & Minnesota | Nerd Sesh

[Music] Welcome everybody back into Nerd Sesh. As always, I’m Carson Bre and alongside me is Logan Camden. And you already know the drill. We had game two of the Western Conference Finals tonight. In Logan, the Oklahoma City Thunder took a convincing 20 series lead. Game one, they won by 26. Tonight, they win by 15. What do you make of their performance? And how do you feel about the position that the Thunder have put themselves in in this series and how they’ve gotten here? I feel really good about the Oklahoma City Thunder moving forward. And the first guy I got to start out by giving props to is the MVP of the league, Shay Gilis Alexander. I thought Shay put on an absolute masterpiece tonight, Carson. I think this was all you could ask out of an MVP. It was an MVP caliber performance. I mean, his dominance in the mid-range, such a beautiful tough shotmaking display. Like he’s elegant. He’s graceful. It’s beautiful watching SGA play basketball. Like I I don’t really understand, man, how people hate on the guy so consistently. Like some games there is some foul grifting. I’ll give you that. But tonight, you’ll look at the free throw numbers and maybe people will draw those conclusions. I didn’t think that was the case at all. I think it’s a byproduct of how aggressive this guy is, how great he is at getting downhill and driving to the rim. And I thought tonight they were mostly all legitimate. But again, with that, you are getting artistry, man. you are just getting some beautiful tough shotmaking on display that is unstoppable. This is not an easy defensive matchup for Shay Gilis Alexander. Uh he’s matched up with Jaden McDaniels, one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He’s also matched up with uh Nquille Alexander Walker, his cousin, a lot in this matchup. Like this is a tough matchup for SGA and he is just shredding Minnesota efficiently, too. 12 of 21 from the field again. 15 free throw attempts with one turnover. Like I think Shay’s the best guy uh remaining in the playoff field and this is such an amazing game from him. But it’s really the big three in this one as well. You got to give your props to JDub and to Chad as well. JDub gives you 26 10 and five efficiently. Chad struggles shooting from behind the arc but gives you 22 points. Was consistently aggressive getting downhill. Nobody else on this team, Carson. We’ve stressed how important the depth is on this team. Nobody else for the Thunder were in double digits in this game. And so, you really have to just tip your cap to this young trio stepping up to the occasion and dominating. And then I got to give credit to this Oklahoma City collective defense. Man, you always have to. They win the turnover battle 14-6. Uh they mentioned this during the broadcast. It’s uh a true superpower to this team. They have the fewest turnovers per game lost and the most turnovers per game forced uh in the playoff field. That is so that’s such a major advantage, man. It’s so hard to overcome when you’re the opponent. And I thought their game plan tonight uh was really great, selling out on Anthony Edwards, consistently packing the paint, just making him work for buckets. And uh the guys up around him played better. Randall didn’t pull his weight, but I thought their defensive game plan uh was excellent in this one. So, to me, it starts with the trio and it starts with the uh elite defensive performance that you just have to have come to expect every single night from this Oklahoma City Thunder team. Absolutely. It’s a wildly impressive performance and honestly after this game I’m comfortable saying this series is over. The Thunder are just the way better basketball team and you can dread it, you can run from it, you can hide from it, but this is clearly the best team in the field and this is a special basketball team. Or alternatively to dreading it, running from it, hiding from it. You can just embrace the most fun defense to watch ever. A defense that moves with a level of aggression, a level of speed, a level of activity that we’ve never seen in the history of this league. turning people over at a rate that we haven’t seen in five decades. That compared to league average, we have never seen in terms of their ability to force turnovers. You can also embrace watching one of the most dazzling scoring guards we have ever seen. A guy with a oneofone combination of shiftiness and ball handling at his size and rim finishing and out of this world shot making and footwork and touch. You could embrace that or you could just continue to try to complain about a whistle. You can continue to try to act as though the team that was dead last in free throw differential in the regular season and still won 68 games. It was top two in net rating is somehow dependent on a whistle and they’ll just keep beating teams by 20 and they’ll just keep beating teams by 30 and they’ll just keep going on runs at a rate that nobody else in the sport can match. And by the way, part of what’s so perplexing to me about the OKC hate and doubt is like this is an organically built young rising superpower. Why people wouldn’t want to embrace that is beyond me. But again, like it or not, they’re just better than everybody else and they’re certainly better than Minnesota. The most special part of the equation night after night is that they have the best defense maybe in the modern era. They have the biggest edge in defensive rating over the number two playoff defense that we have seen since 1971. You mentioned it. They don’t just win the turnover margin at a rate that is better than everybody else this year. They win the turnover margin at a rate that we have never seen in all the years in which we have this data. They also win the turnover scoring margin at a rate that we have never seen. They already have the best total turnover margin in a single postseason in NBA history, Logan, and they’re only 13 games deep. They’re just going to keep building on that. They average more than 14 points per game, more off turnovers compared to their opponents. So, they just have some of these bakedin advantages every single game. They win the transition margin by double digits game after game. They have the largest margin there. They’re the number one scoring transition offense and they are the number one transition defense in terms of opponent points allowed. So, every single night they have these advantages that they can bank on that are going to build in basically a double-digit lead for them. And those things just come through over and over again. in this one. Like Minnesota was actually able to take pretty good care of the basketball for a while until they couldn’t. And then that’s where you get that 196 third quarter run where Minnesota has a few untimely turnovers. OKC gets a few transition chances, they knock down a couple of threes and boom, that’s the game right there. Those aspects, the all-time defense, the all-time turnover margin, the all-time transition margin, that gives them such an extremely high floor. Then the other special component in their success, especially tonight and all season long, is that they have an absolute halfcourt surgeon in the MVP of the league, Sha Alexander, who was absolutely dominant tonight. This is easily one of the best scoring performances we have seen from anybody in these playoffs so far. So under control, so efficient, and I just think Minnesota has been way too willing to play him one-on-one in this series. And we saw them mix things up more in this game. They went to the zone more late. They finally started flat out doubling him and blitzing pick and rolls and just forcing the ball out of his hands. But they need to be forcing the ball out of his hands consistently because all of these dudes are food for him. And I say that with all due respect to Jade McDaniels who is one of the best perimeter defenders, Nquil Alexander Walker who is one of the best perimeter defenders. Nobody can guard this dude on an island. That’s why he averaged 35 points per game on 65% true shooting against them in the regular season when he is on as a shot maker at the level you expect from him. He is one of the most unguardable players in single coverage in history. You cannot stay in front of him. He’s too quick. He’s too shifty. He’s too great with his handle. And then he’s way too great as a shotmaker. So if you give him a little bit of cushion, if you overplay that drive just a little bit too much, he slams on the brakes. He gets to the step back and he is working those shots over and over. These 12-footers where he’s creating a ton of separation, those are layups for him. He’s getting great shots posting up where I think he’s one of the most underrated post artist scoring guards that we’ve ever seen. I mean, he’s a master there with the footwork and the fadeaways are so impressive. And every single time he got Dante Devenzo switched onto a man, he was just scoring with ease. Like, that is not a dude who can guard him on an island. He’s killing them with the mid-range out of drop. So, he got to the line a good bit off of drives in this game and he had a couple of great finishes at the rim. But so much of this scoring is from that short mid-range area. The defenses cannot take away unless they are flat out doubling you. And this is a reason I’ve always been so so high on SGA’s playoff scoring. The ability to make those shots at better than a 50% clip. It’s something nobody else in basketball can do with that sort of volume, with that sort of consistency other than Kevin Durant. So, it’s such a special weapon that he has. And I think you see in contrast to Ant in this game, what a valuable weapon that is, but like you said, man, it’s just one of the great shotmaking performances that you could hope to see. And so, all you guys who say you like basketball, man, if you aren’t in awe of that performance, if you don’t enjoy watching that, then I really think you don’t like basketball and you don’t like watching one of the great scorers and one of the great offensive players we’ve seen operating at his best, man. Last five games, SGA is averaging 33.4 4 points, 6.8 assists on 64% true shooting. He had that lull in the first half of game one of this series, but outside of that, he has just been in a special rhythm getting to his spots at will. Incredibly efficient and productive as a scorer. And when he’s playing like this, and this is what I expect out of Shay, but earlier in the playoffs, there were some more bumps in the road. Now he is playing like the MVP. He is playing like the special half court offensive engine that I know him to be. I’m starting to think this OKC team is just invincible, man. Like I said, some of those advantages that they have night after night with the turnovers in transition with their defense, those are all historic and they can count on those basically every single game. And then when Sheay is also playing at a ridiculous level and takes care of the basketball so exceptionally well and is so incredibly capable of getting himself great shot after great shot. Like if they shoot 35% from three, which is still well below what they did in the regular season, nobody is touching this team and they still win this game comfortably when they shoot 27% from three. They have a plus 15 net rating in these playoffs and they’re shooting 32% from three. Man, like I don’t know if you can really wrap your head around how insane that is. They were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the regular season. They’ve been one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the playoffs and they are still putting up a playoff net rating that even like the Kevin Durant Warriors didn’t reach. That’s because of how special all the other things they do are. And then when the shot is also going like they’re just in a completely different class than everybody else. But I just think flat out no matter what they’re the best team in the field and they just continue to make that even clearer. I’ve been so impressed with how they’ve started this series. So have I. The three-point shooting number is one of the components why I’m confused as to why Minnesota hasn’t thrown more defensive attention at SGA because I just feel like, you know, they weren’t killing them from behind the arc. And so why not? Like nothing else is working. You’re getting killed by three guys in this game. Dort wasn’t hitting for most of this game. Kesan wasn’t hitting for most of this game. Like Cadet wasn’t hitting from deep. It’s like I want them settling for those shots and I think Minnesota should have went more into that. I also want to give SGA a lot of props for just being such a good decision maker. Like SGA is a really good decision maker and playmaker and he doesn’t force the issue. And that’s what’s so beautiful to me about SGA’s game is like he can score at will any time and he’s got counters on counters and he’s got everything in his bag. Quite literally everything. like there’s nothing that SGA can’t do out there on the court and he’s making I mean elite decisions knowing when the defense is throwing attention at him and setting up guys for shots. I mean there’s a lot of open shots that he generates in this game that they don’t cash in on. Like I think the eight assist number honestly underells him uh a little bit in this game because I just thought he was consistently making the right decision. Again, the guy has the ball in his hands all game long and he ends up with one turnover. That is so ridiculous. turnovers per game flat in these playoffs. Logan, it’s so ridiculously hard to do. And again, man, to win in such a dominant fashion, you don’t shoot well. And last thing I wanted to mention on the defense, too, about OKC, they have this propensity to go on runs that nobody else maybe I’ve ever seen. Like, they can just put games away like that. Like that third quarter was just, you felt it. the game completely just slipped out of the grass of Minnesota’s hands and they couldn’t get it back whatsoever. There was nothing they could do and uh yeah, it’s such an advantage. I you know, I got to think Minnesota I I don’t I think this series is over. Yes, I think Oklahoma City is going to win this. I don’t think Minnesota can come back and win this thing. I I got to think they at least get a game or or they they’re not going to go out sad. Yeah, I would tend to agree. I just think the margin that OKC has built for themselves is so exceptionally high. And I actually made a YouTube breakdown about this today, but the reason I think that the OKC defense has a case for being not just the best since the 04 Pistons, which I’ve been saying for a while this year, but even better than that defense and the best that we have seen in the modern era, the best that we have seen since the 60s Russell Celtics, which honestly those defenses will probably never be touched if you are just comparing value relative to era as I do. But the thing that OKC does at the highest level ever is their ability to turn defense into offense. It’s forcing turnovers at a rate that we haven’t seen in the playoffs in 50 years in terms of the steals numbers that they’re putting out. It’s scoring 25 points per game off turnovers. That’s the most that we’ve seen in a postseason this century. That is an ability to weaponize your elite defense and have it impact both sides of the ball. That is different because not all startups are created equal, right? You can be an excellent defense and you can make it incredibly difficult on the other team to score, but when you are specifically forcing turnovers, now we’re talking about a huge impact on your offense because OKC is as good a transition offense as it gets, right? Because they have so many elite athletes. They’re so fast. But just leaguewide, transition offense is like more than 15% more efficient than halfcourt offense. scoring off a turnover. Offenses are 15% more efficient leaguewide than they are on an average possession. So, these are huge difference makers for your offense that their defense is generating at a rate that nobody else ever has. And that’s not even like the story of this one. But when it comes to the runs, absolutely that’s it. That’s why you’re hanging around with them. You’re hanging around with them and then four possessions the game is over like that. That’s what they do in a way that nobody that I can think of ever has. And the only team that is really in that conversation is the Peak Warriors. Yeah. The only thing I want to add to that is that it’s not just limited to turnovers either. Live ball like long threes missed or early shot clock threes also lend advantage Oklahoma City because they’re so good at turning anything into offense. I get it’s important to mention just with how good they are at forcing turnovers, too. But their transition offense isn’t just limited to that. Like I can think of a few instances in this game where Randall missed a three deep, boom, boom, JDub layup like in the blink of an eye. And specifically, it’s problematic in this matchup against Minnesota in lineups where you’ve got Go Bear or um mostly just lineups like that for the most part. They’re otherwise they’re a good transition defense. That’s where it’s really an issue. But this is one of the elite groups at at doing that. And not one of the elite, the best, the best we’ve ever seen. They are the best at turning defense into offense. Like I think that point is worth hammering home. Not one of the best, not one of the elite, the best we have ever seen. Like if you’re struggling to wrap your head around, well, how is this team so dominant when we had questions about some of these guys in the half court offense or the shooting or whatever, it’s because of that. And it’s also because everybody that Oklahoma City plays in their rotation, and we’ve made this point about Indiana as well. They’re all really good decision makers. They can all put the ball on the floor. They can all pass. Like most of the guys, like they’re not all at elite levels. Like a Dort, you know, isn’t great. Hartinstein isn’t great, but like for like Quesan, he’s a really good decision maker. Hartenstein’s a really good passer. I’m more talking about in the component of like a transition offense opportunity like Kesan uh driving the lane and just giving a little like uh you know a little shovel pass to chat for an easy finish. It’s like that’s what’s that is one thing that’s so amazing to me Carson is that this young team has all bought in. just the fact that they’ve already developed this chemistry at such a young age and they already play together so seamlessly and I get that they’ve been building this obviously, right? But these are young basketball players that it’s really rare that this far along into basically the OKC experiment that they all play together at such a high level. the chemistry is off the charts on offense and defense. And you’re thinking that they’re probably going to keep these guys around for, you know, this is optimistically some guys are going to get the bag and get paid. They’ve got to. Oklahoma City’s just got too many talented guys. But like I I don’t know, man. I’m thinking back to how hyped Jay Will was for SGA winning this MVP. I love everything about this Oklahoma City team, man. Like it goes beyond the basketball court, but I think it’s reflected in how this team plays together. their unity, their bond, their chemistry, and it again, it’s also manifested in the results. I believe it’s I I love this Oklahoma City team, man. Well, you said it, dude. It’s crazy that they’re this great this young. I mean, it’s almost without precedent historically, they’d be the youngest champion since the 77 Blazers. And that’s the thing. They’re just going to keep getting better from here. Like, I really do think we’re witnessing the start of a potential dynasty. Maybe a probable dynasty. If the Thunder don’t win multiple titles, I think that that would be very disappointing considering what they have in place right now with the timeline that they still have. And just watching them to start this series, man, you think about what Denver was able to do pushing them to seven. Even that series, OKC had a plus 64 point differential. I mean, two of their wins were blowouts and they didn’t shoot the ball up to their potential overall. So, like that was not your typical sevename series. OKC was clearly the better basketball team still, but I think it’s more likely than not that we look back at that when these playoffs are said and done and we go, “Wow, good for Denver.” Cuz that’s one of the best teams ever who otherwise ran through the field and they pushed them seven games. OKC is just better than everybody and they’re just going to continue to get better and better. And all year, this team has been doubted for reasons that just really aren’t very good. When you look at the absolutely dominant and historic results that they have put forth night after night after night, people talk about experience. They talk about size. They talk about these things that OKC is so well equipped to overcome with their physicality, with their speed, with their energy night after night, with their depth, with having a guy like Shay who is such a special stabilizing force for you in the half court. I’m just so impressed by them. I mean, my expectations were through the roof for them in this playoff run. And I think that this series has been some really exceptional basketball by them. And it’s really been a statement from them to start things off in the Western Conference Finals. I do want to specifically shout out both Jada and Chad. I know you gave them their flowers, but this really was a collective big three performance. Like you said, that’s where a vast majority of the offensive contributions come from in this one. Jada, man, I would say that it’s the cleanest game that we have seen from him in these playoffs. He has a huge performance versus Denver in game three. He had some absolute bangers against Memphis. I mean, I thought he was great in all four of those games, but just considering the stakes here, considering that the outside shooting was shaky from OKC around him, he gives you 26 points. He shoots 60% from the field. He doesn’t turn the ball over once, and he was just in complete control this entire game. Phenomenal shooting from the mid-range. I mean, my god, he started this game like five of five from mid-range versus drop in isolation. He just really had that going and that’s one of his go-to spots as a scorer and really one of the key aspects in him having things going and being efficient and productive as a scorer and he had it going in a big way in this one. But just as significant, not just the offense he was able to get for himself where he was so comfortable and also was very comfortable in the second half of game one when just kind of everything flipped for this OKC offense. I think the last three halves their offense has been really really great overall. It was also what he was able to bring you off ball like specifically when they are sending to at SGA or when they’re playing in the zone. I thought that Jada was so good off the catch. I thought he had some great drives off the catch. He hit a couple of huge threes versus the zone which again I thought that Minnesota was right to go to, but OKC ends up generating 17 points on 15 possessions against the zone. That’s a very good number. That’s a number they have to be happy with. You also have to give Alex Caruso a lot of credit for what he was doing just picking apart that zone in the middle. But it was an excellent JO game. I also thought he had some phenomenal moments defensively as always. And then Chad, like you said, man, the three ball is the one thing that we’re now looking at an extended stretch where he hasn’t looked confident in it. I do think that he has to speed up that release. Like you see Rudy blocks him on one in this game. It can be shaky for him shooting against a contest and that’s why a lot of the time it’s pump fake and let me see if I can get a drive. He did hit that one three as a trailer in transition that I actually thought was contested. I didn’t expect him to make that with how he has shot against contests overall this year and in these playoffs. But outside of that, I mean, finding a way to still contribute elite offensive value is what he did. He was finishing aggressively off the roll. He was running the floor hard in transition, getting opportunities at the rim, and he was so available in the dunker spot off of drives. He was also huge against the zone, just always being in the right spots on the baseline around the rim. His touch was good and he’s just been like really, really aggressive as a finisher at the rim in these playoffs. That’s where he’s been most impressive offensively. Really, really good in the paint. So, shout out to those three. I mean, they’re s such a special trio and all of them have been disrespected in their own ways. I mean, chat, I still don’t think people have a full grasp on how special of a talent he is and how insanely high the ceiling is for him. JDub, I understand some of the complaints with him for sure. Like last series, that three-game stretch against Denver was really bad, but he’s such a great two-way player. And as like a longterm number three, it really doesn’t get better than him. It doesn’t. I mean, the to be this good this young, the consistent impact you get from JDub just as a defensive player and a rebounder, like I he gets all defense second team. I think Jaylen Williams is an alldefense first team caliber kind of player with his impact. Agree. The consistent impact you get as a low man and as a helpside rim protector, what he can do on ball, disruptive, what he can do in a free safety role. It’s like, dude, Jayd’s just one of the most versatile defenders on the planet and what he does off switches, what he does guarding the post. He’s an elite uh he’s an elite guy at finishing possessions, is rebounding. He’s awesome on the glass in this game. playmate really well. And early in this game, I thought it was going to be a special JDub one because he got that mid-range shot going early and you’re like, well, hell, if JDub gets that going, you have no questions about his game. It’s like, let him be underappreciated, man. Like, I J’s a monster. I I would take him any day. The fact that they have both of all three of these guys so young, they’re all I can’t say Shay’s ascending. I think Shay is what he is, but what he is is MVP of the freaking league. and and then JDub and Chad I think are going to continue to get better. And Chad, Doris mentioned it on the broadcast and I think it was a really important point. The fact that Chad has missed so much time in his career, I think it’s really hindered his ability to like stack growth in development. I think if we get Chad and like you know a summer could obviously do this too or an off season Chad could obviously make some growth. That’s where a lot of players get better clearly. But when Czech can be on the court for an extended period of time, I really think you’re going to see him go from, you know, one of the best rim protectors, if not the best rim protector on the planet, but you’re also going to get an offensive player that is consistently great. Not every, you know, because that is the deal with Chad right now. Sometimes he’s really on, sometimes he’s not. When you get that consistent impact, dude, I mean, I could see Oklahoma City easily winning 70 games. I can see. Well, they got 68. They’re pretty damn close. I mean, like that’s 68 with Chet missing 50 games missing time with Jada missing time. Do you think that this is is this the best team in your eyes since the the Dubs? I don’t know if I can say that yet. Let’s see how this postseason finishes. I absolutely think that they have the potential to seize that title. I also thought that last year’s Celtics team w really was great. there was a consistency with them offensively that this Thunder team hasn’t had. But this Thunder team is also on a different level defensively because they’re on a different level defensively than any group that we’ve seen in a long, long time. When it comes to Chad specifically, just look at how he came out early this year. I mean, the different level of comfort we saw from him as a driver, as a ball handler, playing out of the mid-range off the catch. like he looked like a different player and then he gets hurt. He misses multiple months and then ever since then has really been working his way back into rhythm offensively. Hasn’t been quite as dynamic with any consistency as he was to start the year. But I’ve been so consistently so high on him. I really do think that the ceiling is like a top five kind of player. I think he’ll be a top 10 kind of player. And he was great in this one. On the defensive end, Logan, we’ve already given some praise to OKC, but specifically, what did you think of their performance on Julius Randall, who ends this game, first of all, on the bench for an extended stretch, but six points, four turnovers, two of 11 shooting. How did they stifle him so effectively? I mean, this is a Randall meltdown. Um, I’ve been so happy for Julius Randall at the level that that he’s reached. Uh, one I think really crisp rotations and just timely blitzes like uh you see Lou Dort on that one. I mean Blink and you might miss it punches it literally right as Julius Randle catches that basketball. That’s one did almost the exact same thing. Both them just sprint from the weak side when whoever is fronting and they make I think Minnesota’s got to stop throwing those passes, man. They’ve gotten a little too like comfortable and they’ve done it a lot in this series where it’s like, okay, you’ve done it. Oklahoma City’s defense is noticing that you’re doing this. They know how to counter. I honestly think it takes multiple games to adjust to OKC’s defensive speed if you can ever do it. Like I think you saw a similar thing where Jokic earlier in that series was trying some windows that by games five and six he was like, “Yeah, I just can’t make that pass. They’re just too fast.” So I think that’s what you’re seeing. They’re thinking 99% of the time we’re able to get away with this pass. this dude isn’t gonna not just sprint from the weak side, but make a perfectly timed strip because only OKC’s defense can do that. But they can do that and they will do that. Exactly. But they’ve thrown that pass a bunch already in these first two games and it’s like I don’t know. I think they’ve gotten one good possession out of it maybe. And then the only possession I really like from Randall in this game was uh the one where he had Caruso on him on the baseline and they couldn’t trap and he just goes through Caruso. That was it. I mean, the rest of this great traps, um, forcing him into making quick decisions, and that’s the big one with Randall is if you can get him uncomfortable and sped up, that’s when he’s got that potential to bust. And then you’re trying to throw these crosscourt passes and you’re getting intercepted and stuff like that. So, also, Randall didn’t get the three ball going, and we mentioned that in the first game, but it’s like he got so much of his offense. That’s why I didn’t anticipate a game this bad, but I could definitely anticipate a step back. He had a bunch of really easy walk-in threes in game one and he didn’t get a lot of those opportunities. I don’t I don’t have anything I’m sorry, man. I don’t have anything positive or encouraging to think about. I I don’t know how this matchup gets easier or any better for Julius Randle. I just think he’s going to continue to struggle and he can’t. The Timberwolves need him to pull his weight in this series if they want to win one game. I’m serious. Like to to get one, they need Randall to step up. There’s nothing positive to say. I mean, it’s just a disastrous performance. But you have to give the OKC defense so much credit for that. It feels like in each one of these this series that they’ve played in the playoffs, like one of the key factors that you’ve looked at going in is like, okay, can this big bruiser bully them out of the post? First it was Jiren Jackson Jr. for Memphis, then it was Jokic, obviously, for Denver, and now it’s Julius Randall for Minnesota. And the answer for all three of them has been an emphatic no relative to their standards. I mean, Jiren Jackson Jr. was an absolute hell in that series. He averaged 16 points per game on 48% true shooting. And that was with them guarding him with Caruso and with Jaylen Williams for a lot of that series. Then we obviously saw what they were able to do with Joic, especially in game seven where they’re guarding him with Caruso. And now we’ve seen very similar stuff against Julius Randall. And uh there were some Timber Rules fans coming into this series, man, who acted like I was an insane person for saying I thought that this was much much harder as a matchup for Julius Randle than the last two series cuz they’re like, “Oh, he’s just going to go through these small guys.” That’s what everybody says before they play the Thunder, which really makes me wonder like if they’ve ever watched the Thunder play basketball cuz I don’t even think it’s arguable that this is the defense that guards the post the best in basketball. And I understand that that’s counterintuitive because they aren’t a team that has elite size and a lot of the time it is Jaylen Williams or Lou Dort or Alex Caruso guarding the post. The reason I say that is first of all it is way way way harder to get the ball into the post against them than any other team in basketball. Why was Jaylen Brown so bad against the Celtics or for the Celtics against the Thunder? Well, because he couldn’t handle comfortably. His entire offensive approach had to turn into posting up mismatches and they could not get him the ball. Triple J went through this. Joic went through this. That was why the Caruso strategy was so effective. They couldn’t get him the ball. And you see the same thing. I mean, a number of turnovers just trying to get it into Julius Randle, just trying to complete an entry pass where you mentioned they float a couple of them and then the help comes and they make a play on the ball or they just overthrow the pass because like the fronting is so effective. that happened early in this game. So, that’s part A. Like, you’re just going to really, really struggle to even get the ball. And then when you do, you’re going up against, first of all, some really, really strong, low center of gravity, physical defenders like a Dort, like an Al Caruso, guys who are going to beat you to the spot more consistently than anybody else, who are going to be able to hold up physically and then draw a bunch of offensive fouls, and guys who have the best hands of any defense in basketball by far. So, if you expose the ball for a second, they’re going to make a play on it. Like, you just are going to have a hell of a hard time ever trying to attack mismatches or play bully ball against the Thunder. And then if they have to outright double, they will. And they are the fastest defense in basketball. And they have the best hands there as well. So, they’re going to make it incredibly difficult for you to make a pass out of that double. And then they’re going to rotate like hell to whoever you found. And they’re going to make it difficult for them. like they’re just the best defense we’ve seen in a long ass time, man. And their ability to reach that level regardless of matchup is exceptional and they’ve done it consistently against these big ass forwards in bigs now. So, I don’t know why people thought that this series would be different. I thought that they were just exceptional on Julius Randall and then they started forcing him into attempting a couple more like really contested tough step back jumpers cuz he’s like, I’m not going to mess with this postup stuff anymore. And I don’t blame him for that. But the three ball is going to be huge cuz realistically like he had some good moments attacking mismatches in game one, but he also had some moments where OKC forced him into turnovers. He had five turnovers in that game. Really most of his damage was done from beyond the ark and he doesn’t have that going in this one and he’s completely incapable of doing any damage out of the post. I think this is going to be a really difficult series for Julius Randall. He’s not going to be this bad every game, but you’re going up against the defense that is best equipped to guard him because they’re literally best equipped to guard everybody. Like, I don’t think that’s an exaggeration. What did you make of Ant’s performance in this game, Logan? I thought Ant was excellent in this basketball game, except for the three-point shooting. I I was thoroughly impressed. I thought his finishing, his ability to get to those shots, dealing with so much attention inside the ark, like it would have been really easy for Ant to stop attacking downhill, but he didn’t. I thought he was relentless at a lot of different points in this game and did a really good job of finishing through contact. He makes it look so easy, man. That little pop, you know, where he gets that little kind of baby hook runner kind of thing with his arm. He makes it look so effortless. It’s literally it’s it’s I really like watching when you can tell a guy’s worked on a move in the gym for so long that it just looks so easy for him in game with both hands. And Ant really does make it look easy. And I thought he play made really well in this game. He got so much attention on drives. They mentioned this in during the broadcast. He scored or assisted on 16 of the uh Timberwolves 25 points in the first quarter. He was great. Had 16 first half points. you know, ends this game with a 30 piece. If he had the three-point shooting, it would have been an excellent game and he’s really got to get that going. I thought that and it portions in this game, him settling for mid-range jumpers were my only real gripes where he hit one or two and I do think I think he actually hit three even though he came into this game shooting 11% for mid-range in these playoffs. A couple, but then I thought he like kind of lulled himself into taking a few more of those than I liked and started missing them. I do think they should keep going back to that Gob Bear pick and roll though. I thought the a lot of the screens they ran with Go Bear, they ended up getting some really high quality looks off of that. Um, just off he’s setting great screens for sure. He’s freeing guys up as jump shooters. The problem is he cannot play off the role in this matchup cuz the second that they come over to tag him, he’s freaking the [ __ ] out. I mean, both of these games he’s just been a complete disaster off the role. Yeah, but I I do think his screening’s been pretty effective. So, I I was really impressed with Ant Carson. I think we’ve seen some legitimate growth from him over this last year in his playmaking, especially dealing with uh a lot of attention. And so, I I really liked a lot of his passing, a lot of the advantages that he created. But, uh he’s got to shoot better from behind the arc. That’s my big take for Ant. Like, he’s just got to get it going. It was such a compo major component of his offensive success. I think he was one of six in the first half. Uh cuz I mean he ends up one of seven actually, but I don’t even c count that half court heave at the end of it. It doesn’t really matter. But it was such a big deal for him in getting going and a consistent pillar of his offense that he’s got to get it going. But inside the arc I really like in in playmaking I thought was impressive. And his defense I thought all those areas I was pleasantly uh pleased with. An yeah, he made a couple of great defensive plays, a couple of really impressive blocks. I mean, I thought that the Lou Dort one, I thought that was a pretty soft call. I thought that that should have stood as a block. So, I’m counting that in my mind. That counts on the Carson Breber stat sheet. Rest have been strange in this one, man. Well, Scott Foster’s on the call, man. What do you want him to do? I will say I don’t even want to talk about officiating. But you know what? Because it was the entire talking point for 48 hours after game one. Who got the shitty whistle down the stretch of this game, Logan? Who got the shitty whistle in the fourth quarter? Who got the worst end of the whistle overall? OKC is the Thunder, right? Do you see a single peep about that? No, of course not because it doesn’t fit the narratives that people are trying to put together. But whatever. I’m maybe not as high on this ant game as you are. I thought the second half was really encouraging though because I thought the first half was a struggle. Like yes, he had 16 points, but it was on 18 shots. 18 shots. And a lot of them I did think were forced. I thought that as they were loading up on him, he forced the issue on some drives, forced a couple mid-range looks in the first half. I I liked the looks that he was getting to from mid-range a little bit more in the second half. They were a little bit cleaner. They were a little bit closer to like that free throw line area. Forced a really deep three in the first half. So, I thought he was continuing to struggle on ball. Where I did like the adjustment that Minnesota made in this game was they had him play off the ball a lot more and I thought he was able to get much better looks like that. like he’s one pass away off of postups or he’s the guy who’s catching a swing pass and he was getting great looks from three and even though he shot really poorly like he’s their best shooter. He’s been one of the best three-point shooters in basketball this year. I really like him getting those looks but he was also able to get some good drives off the catch. If it’s attacking a closeout, if it’s him curling around a screen and now having a step and a head start, like he was just able to get better looks like that. And in the second half, like especially that fourth quarter, it was really the fourth quarter where I thought he took over and he was just insistent upon getting downhill. And he shows you how exceedingly difficult is to keep that guy away from the rim, which I thought the Thunder had did a phenomenal job of for basically seven quarters of the series. I mean, he only attempted one shot in the paint in game one, but man, he can just carve his way to that basket and he was definitely finishing at a really high level as you said in this one. So, he kind of brought Minnesota back into this game where they were at least kind of within reach. Like, it was kind of a fake comeback, but nevertheless, I thought what Ant showed was real. And I think he has to play with that sort of like full-on downhill mentality. I do think that Shay is showing in this series that he is just on a different level as a half court operator. I think the mid-range is a big part of that. I also think that he has been better as a playmaker in this series. SGA has been than Ant. Just the isolation scoring from SGA is on a different level as well. But Ant being able to get to the rim like he was in the second half is very big for them and the three ball should start to fall. So I think that you feel encouraged. I mean if I’m OKC I’m loading up on him extremely aggressively throughout this series and they have been for the most part in this series. And uh yeah, I’m trying to really clog up those driving lanes and if he can force his way in there then that’s a special player making special plays. But I think you have to make that as difficult as possible. So I did think that Ant was definitely solid and was really good down the stretch of this game. Minnesota does just have to shoot better, man. I mean, especially from the corners, 28% from deep in this one. Obviously, it was a big struggle for them shooting from deep in game one. You get more out of the bench in this one, but Nas Reed still is not shooting well from beyond the arc. He had more success inside the arc. Nik Alexander Walker was really good. Jade McDaniels is shooting the ball really well. I thought that he uh had a really impressive game in this one. Like, yeah, SGA was cooking him, but he had a couple blocks. And again, he was able to get you some good offense as a jump shooter. But yeah, that three-point shooting just isn’t going to cut it because they have to make those shots like to keep OKC remotely honest for the level of attention that they are dedicating to the stars. The spot-up shooting has to be there. And Ant’s even a part of that because Ant misses some really good looks off the catch in this one from deep. I completely agree. Yeah, I thought it was a better game from uh from NAB. I thought it was uh better early just from the bench in general getting some offense. I mean, at a point in this game, Minnesota was outscoring uh Oklahoma City 18 to nothing in bench points. Like they were running them in that category and just stalls out and and that’s kind of the point that the Carson and I are getting at with this shooting is that if Randall’s not going to pull his weight, like you just need that much more contributions from everybody else. And it’s really hard coming over, excuse me, overcoming this many non-factors. A Go Bear, a Randall, guys that you can play off of. I mean, dude, Mike Connley is just such a limited offensive player at this point. He’s a straight catch and shooter, you know, and I do want to give credit. I thought Jaden McDaniels had some moments in this game, too. He’s getting his mid-range shot. Like, I thought he’s been he’s been better um than I expected. And I think we’ve seen him take a real leap and you’ve just seen it and how confident he is attacking. But got to get more around him, man. And I don’t know, Carson, I don’t really see any of these other games in this series going that much differently. I I think they’re going to be really similar. I think that Minnesota is going to hang with Oklahoma City through the first half. It’s going to be tight. And then I think as we come out of the break, end of the second quarter, into the third, Oklahoma City is going to continue to separate. So, the guys that really have to be better in my opinion, Julius Randall just has to play more controlled and maybe be less aggressive. Like, if you’re in the post and you don’t feel comfortable, man, just kick it back out. Um, honestly, have him as a spot-up shooter more. Like, let’s have him with Ant and see if we can get him going as a catch and shooter from behind the arc. And if not, I wouldn’t be afraid to pull him like they did. They don’t Randle isn’t playing the fourth quarter in this game. It’s like you’ve got guys to turn to. I wouldn’t be afraid to pull him. So, I’m pushing a lot of buttons if I’m Minnesota on the Randall front. And then you got to get stuff out of Naz Reed. And I shout out NAB. I thought NAB was uh really good in this game as well. So, they look better, but it’s a really uphill battle, man. I think Oklahoma City’s more talented. And yeah, again, it’s it’s really hard. I mean, this defense is so elite and they make life hard on everybody on this team. There’s nothing there’s nobody on this team that can get anything really really easy. Like and I’m I’m like I know I get Anthony has 30 points. Don’t take that out of context. But it’s like he is working for these 30 points. They are a laborious 30. So I I’m I’m I’ve moved off of my seven. I’m I’m more like Oklahoma City and five or something like that, man. Yeah, I would tend to agree. I mean I picked Oklahoma City in six. I would say that this is probably a fiveame series at this point. If you just go up and down the checklist and you look at the advantages, okay, who’s the best player in this series? Who do you trust most? I think it’s very clearly SGA. Who is the best offensive engine in the half court? That’s SGA. Which defense is more capable of making the opposing offenses stars uncomfortable? That is by far Oklahoma City. Like Jub has been worlds better than Julius Randall. And I don’t think that that’s surprising because Randall is in a hellish matchup. And SGA also I think is just going to be more consistent than Ant in this series. If you look at the turnover margin, that’s a huge advantage for the Thunder. If you look at the transition margin, that’s a big advantage for the Thunder. If you look at the ability to generate consistent offense in the paint, because both of these teams have had their issues shooting from beyond the ark, OKC was plus 34 points in the paint in game one. They were plus 14 points in the paint in this one. So that gives them an offensive floor that I am more confident in even as I think both of these teams should shoot better from deep. I think the depth is really good for both. I think that it’s even better for Oklahoma City. And like there are a couple of guys for Minnesota who I’m just more concerned about. Like I advocated for Rudy to play more in this game because I thought he was so great protecting the rim in game one. I didn’t think he was quite as impactful in this one, but also SJ and Jada were just so great from the mid-range that like there’s really nothing he can do about that. But offensively, it’s a real struggle for him out there. And I just think the regression of Mike Connley has been like one of the most underrated and significant things for this Minnesota team. Obviously, it hasn’t kept them from getting to the conference finals. But to win a series like this, they would have needed the Mike Connley of last year, who’s giving you 12 points and six assists and shooting 40% from deep, who could actually score inside the arc. Mike Connley is shooting 30% on two-pointers after he shot 38% on two-pointers in the regular season. Like once he sets foot inside the three-point line, he is effectively not a scoring threat whatsoever. So just him not being able to step up and give you the same offensive contributions, I think, is really significant because he was a real stabilizing force for this team last year. I just think OKC is on a different level for Minnesota. The only other area that I could see bouncing back in Minnesota’s favor in the last category that I think they could check is rebounding. That’s still the area where I think that Minnesota could do a better job of. And it’s not easy against Oklahoma City because I think you even see it in this game. You saw it in game one, too. Minnesota will secure rebounds that Oklahoma City just takes right from him. Like they’re so good at staying active and not letting you get anything easy. Like go Barrel will come down with something and Dor says, “Nah, I think I’ll take that.” So, it’s tough. I mean, it’s really tough. I I just think Oklahoma City is that elite. It’s no slight. It’s no shade in Minnesota, but that’s the last area that I could see Minnesota really improving on and winning in a win of theirs. And and it’s a key that I think that they need to check to beat Oklahoma City. Yeah, I would tend to agree. I think that OKC is just pretty damn good though, as you said, at hanging on the glass just with their quickness to the ball, with their activity. like overall against Denver, I think that they probably outperformed expectations on the boards and I think that they’re capable of doing the same in this series. So, I do think that OKC at this point has gotten off to a very, very convincing start from the series. Obviously, I thought that they were going to win coming in, but I do feel like we’re at a point where I’m just not seeing a path for Minnesota out of this one. Congrats to Shay on the MVP, man. We didn’t really talk about that at all, but that was announced yesterday. I think we’ve given our takes on the MVP race thoroughly enough. Probably discussed it 50 times this year, but very, very welld deserved. Best twoman MVP race ever in my opinion. Why did we wait until May 21st to announce it? I have no idea. Why did we wait until after a series between the two MVP front runners? An epic sevengame series. I have no idea. Honestly, my take is just like the NBA has bosched the entire award season. Why are these things not announced all at once? you know, like why don’t you do the equivalent of an NFL honors? I completely agree, man. I think it would be I think it would be something that people would watch. I would watch that. Like I’m I’m all for it. We’re trickling out like all defense like everything is just so random. You don’t know when anything’s going to be Jaylen Williams all defense second. Okay. Yeah. Great, man. I mean, you just kill all the momentum for this stuff, especially because that could have been such a moment. Game seven, you announced MVP beforehand and it’s SGA. Okay. Yeah, now we got some freaking vibes going into that game. As if it needed any more energy going into it, but uh I really just don’t get how they’ve handled that. Appreciate you guys joining us for this game. Hope you enjoyed the basketball. If you want to enjoy tomorrow’s basketball and the postgame with us, then you know where to find us. All of our postgame live streams are here on our YouTube channel. You can, of course, watch them back after the fact, and you can see all of our video essays and video content right here on our YouTube channel. I did make a video today as I already mentioned on how Oklahoma City might be the best defense that we have seen in modern NBA history. I mentioned some of the factors for that, but go ahead and check out that video if you want a more in-depth thorough breakdown with some really cool numbers and film and whatnot. If you want to listen to the show, you can do so across all audio platforms. And you can follow us across social if you want. Tik Tok and Instagram nerds, Twitter nerd_esh to see clips from the show, graphics from the show, and of course all of our short form trivia content. And with that, as always, appreciate you guys. I’ve been Carson Brabber. I’ve been Logan Camden.

The nerds react to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder delivering a huge Game 2 win over Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.