May 24th, 2025
7:30 PM CDT
Target Center
ABC/ESPN News
KFAN FM/Wolves App/iHeart Radio

Let’s set the scene. The Minnesota Timberwolves return to Target Center for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, dragging behind them two ugly road losses, a bruised team psyche, and roughly 200 collective Timberwolves fan tweets saying “I miss Karl-Anthony Towns.” The mission when they left for Oklahoma City? Steal one game, flip home court, and stay neck-and-neck with a Thunder team that has been inhaling their own hype like it’s oxygen. Instead? The Wolves got blitzed in eight quarters of basketball that ranged from frustrating to flat-out demoralizing.

Let’s be clear: this is not a bad Thunder team. This is not a lucky, flash-in-the-pan, “happy to be here” Cinderella story. This team is borderline historic—deep, disciplined, modern, and mean. They are everything you’d cook up in a lab in 2025 if you wanted to ruin Anthony Edwards’ summer. And they’re playing like a team that wants to run through the West like young Steph’s Warriors did in 2015. Except with more defense and fewer fist pumps.

That’s why Game 3, Saturday night, Target Center, Memorial Day weekend, is nothing short of . The “season ends if they lose” kind of must-win. Fall behind 0-3 and you’re not just up against elimination—you’re staring down NBA history, and not the good kind. No team has ever come back from 0-3. You fall into that hole, you’re basically the guy at the blackjack table trying to win his money back by hitting on 17.

And yet…

For all the doomscrolling going on in Wolves Nation—and trust me, it’s happening, I’ve seen the Reddit threads and the crying Jordan memes—there’s still reason to believe. Because if you’ve followed this team all year, you know one thing:

We’ve seen them get punched before. The 2024 Denver series looked over after Game 5. Charles Barkley was practically filling out Jokic’s NBA Finals ticket before Ant went nuclear in Game 6. This team has fought through injuries, shooting slumps, a team-altering trade, and one of the best conferences in recent memory.

So no, they’re not done yet.

But if they want to make this a series? It starts with Game 3. And it starts with these five keys.

Let’s not overthink this. Through two games, the Thunder have looked like the team that studied film, took the scouting report seriously, and played like they actually gave a damn. They’re handsy, they swarm pick-and-rolls, they rotate like synchronized swimmers, and they fly on closeouts.

The Wolves? They’ve looked… tentative. Flat-footed. Cautious. Scared to foul.

It’s understandable—Game 1’s whistle had more ticky-tack than an arts-and-crafts aisle. But guess what? That can’t be the excuse. You can’t let officiating dictate your identity.

This Wolves team, when it’s right, is a defense-first machine. Rudy anchoring the back, Jaden eating wings alive, Ant jumping passing lanes, NAW digging in like he’s fighting for his NBA life. We know they can do this. We’ve seen them do it—against LeBron, Steph, Jokic.

But against OKC? So far, they’ve been reactive. That needs to stop.

This game has to be a blitz. I’m talking full-blown, 94-feet, playoff-style defensive violence. If SGA wants to foul bait, make him earn every single one. Make him wake up on Sunday sore. If Jalen Williams wants to cook, make him cook through two defenders and a flying arm from Julius Randle. Enough space. Enough switching to preserve energy. It’s time to burn the reserves and empty the damn tank.

And can we talk about that third-quarter zone in Game 2? The Thunder carved it up like it was Thanksgiving dinner. That can never happen again. If Finch calls that again in Game 3, someone on the bench should just break a clipboard over their knee and walk into the locker room.

Here’s what drove me nuts in Game 2: Every missed Wolves shot felt like it turned into a Thunder possession. Every time OKC missed, there were three blue jerseys crashing the boards while the Wolves casually drifted back in transition like they were auditioning for a yoga retreat.

In Game 2, the Thunder looked like the team that wanted the ball more. They hunted rebounds, won loose balls, and gobbled up second-chance points like leftovers.

Rudy Gobert pulled down 9 boards in Game 2. Nine. That’s a fine number if you’re an average center playing 24 minutes. But if you’re 7’1”, a 4x Defensive Player of the Year, and the Wolves are bricking jumpers like it’s a contest—you need 15+ boards. Minimum.

The Wolves need to gang rebound. Ant. Jaden. Julius. Naz. Everybody. You can’t just assume Rudy’s gonna get it. You need five guys crashing the glass and battling. Because OKC is undersized—but they’re fast, they’re scrappy, and they want it. If you don’t match that effort, you’re losing the possession game, and you’re not surviving a 42% shooting night.

And guess what? You can survive those shooting nights if you win the rebounding battle. More attempts = more points. Simple math. Right now, the Thunder are winning that math. Time to flip it.

Minnesota has three legit frontcourt weapons in Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid. And if we’re being honest, all three have underperformed.

Let’s start with Rudy. Five points total in Game 2. A couple putbacks that came through far too late in the game. Is he being featured on offense? No. Is he expected to give you 20? No. But you can’t have your 7-foot All-NBA center being a non-factor when Chet Holmgren is dropping 22.

And defensively? I’m sorry, but giving up 118 and looking disoriented in drop coverage isn’t exactly earning you a pass just because you’re “the anchor.”

Julius Randle? He was spectacular in Round 2. But in Game 2 of this series? 6 points on 2-for-11 shooting. Didn’t play in the fourth. Looked sluggish, disengaged, and couldn’t buy a bucket or a favorable whistle.

That’s unacceptable. This is why you traded for him. To be the second alpha. The bruiser. The high-usage guy that takes the pressure off Ant. He has to find that mojo again, and fast.

And Naz? We love Naz. But if we get another 0-for-5 from deep, another slow closeout, another possession where he floats instead of crashing, we’re gonna start wondering if the Sixth Man of the Year trophy was cursed.

You have the size. You have the depth. It’s time to win the battle down low.

Let’s be real—Mark Daigneault is coaching his ass off. He’s pressing the right buttons, staggering SGA and Jalen, mixing coverages, pulling Finch into mismatches, and using his bench with confidence.

Chris Finch? He’s been… safe. A little too safe.

Yes, continuity matters. Trusting vets matters. But this is the Western Conference Finals. If you’re not willing to tweak the rotations now, when are you? When you’re down 0-3?

Mike Conley had a +14 in a blowout loss. Donte DiVincenzo had a -27. In Game 1, Mike was +5 and Donte was -21. Is anyone spotting a trend?

Finch needs to ride Conley like a rented mule in Game 3. I don’t care if he’s old, I don’t care if he shoots 1-for-8. If the team settles when he’s on the court, he needs to be on the court.

Also: it’s time to throw a few rookies into the mix. Not major minutes. But 4–6 minute bursts to stir things up. Jaylen Clark is a defensive menace. Let him get in SGA’s grill. Burn a few fouls. Get weird. Terence Shannon Jr. can slash—he can collapse the defense in a way no wing player outside of Ant can. If, once again, the shots aren’t falling, let him pressure the rim and put OKC on their heels.

This is not the time to keep trying what isn’t working.

Here it is. The biggest key. The one that either saves this season or becomes the “what if” conversation all summer.

Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle have to be unstoppable.

Through two games, Ant has had one strong showing (Game 2), and Julius has had one decent half (Game 1). They haven’t both been great at the same time. And that’s what it’s going to take.

This team is built around their combined gravity. When Ant is driving, hitting stepback threes, and trash-talking with that Michael Jordan twinkle in his eye? The Wolves believe. When Randle is banging in the post, forcing switches, and kicking out to his teammates on the perimter? The floor opens up. The defense bends. The ball moves.

Together, they can overwhelm OKC. Together, they can break the game plan. But if it’s just one guy doing the work, the Thunder can adjust. They’ll blitz Ant, sag off Julius, dare someone else to beat them—and we’ve seen how that’s gone so far.

Ant has to be the guy. Julius has to be the co-star. Anything less, and this becomes another “tough out” season for the Wolves.

There’s a feeling right now in Wolves Nation that the book is closing on this series. That the Thunder are just better. That we’re headed for another “nice season, tough ending” chapter in the long, cursed history of this franchise.

But here’s the thing: Game 3 can change everything.

Win Game 3, and suddenly it’s 2-1 with another home game ahead. Win Game 4, and we’re tied 2-2 going back to OKC. Suddenly it’s a best-of-three, and all the pressure flips to the Thunder. That’s how fast it can turn. All it takes is one damn good Memorial Day weekend.

This is the moment. Season on the line. National spotlight. Every player in that locker room knows what’s at stake. And if there’s ever been a time to show up, lock in, and throw everything at the wall?

It’s now.

So let’s see it. Let’s see Ant drop 40. Let’s see Rudy grab 15 and block four. Let’s see Jaden pick up SGA full court. Let’s see Finch coach like his legacy’s on the line. Let’s see Julius cook.

Game 3. Target Center. Must-win.

Let’s turn the page our way.