Tip-off: 7:30 pm@ Paycom Center, Oklahoma City | Broadcast: ESPN
⚡THE Big 3
Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have been coming into their own under the big lights, stuffing the statsheet and delivering as two-way playmakers alongside SGA. The Thunder are deep throughout the roster, but they're also well balanced at the top of the talent pyramid. If JDub and Chet are taking a leap of sorts these playoffs, so too is the Thunder's championship window.
⚡The precipice
The Thunder are back. Almost, if we're talking Finals. But they are already back in title contention for the foreseeable future, barring a horribly timed string of injuries and roster construction choices (we've never seen anything like that, have we?). The NBA moves incredibly fast, so don't start planning any 2029 championship parades just yet. But while the Thunder have their eye on this year's trophy, the rest of the league is primed to nuke their cap obligations and/or start planning for the future. Asserting themselves to close this postseason could help make up the minds of some Thunder foes currently on the fence of exorbitant title contention.
⚡Prediction: OKC 124 MIN 111
My prediction hasn't changed all series: Thunder 5. Anthony Edwards, however, told DT's ThunderChick that the Wolves were winning.