It appears that the “experts” at ESPN have learned a lesson after all 10 picked the Los Angeles Lakers to take down the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. It was the network’s unanimous picks that served as fuel for Minnesota’s fire en route to stomping the Lakers in five games.
“When I saw that legitimately everybody chose the Lakers, I was like, I know these guys watch basketball, they got to,” Wolves veteran guard Mike Conley told Dan Barreiro on KFXN-FM 100.3. “Being able to see that we have the same record. … We’re probably a better team, a deeper team. Somebody gotta see that right? That was perfect for us because we felt we were a better team.
This time around, 10-of-11 ESPN “experts” are picking the Wolves to beat the Warriors and reach the Western Conference finals for a second year in a row.
While ESPN’s panel has been convinced, two-thirds of the NBA on TNT crew still aren’t buying in. Kenny Smith thinks a big factor will be Anthony Edwards guarding Jimmy Butler, which means someone else would have to be glued to Steph Curry for the entire series.
“I don’t think he has the luxury to say I’m going to try to put the fire out on Steph,” Smith said. “He’s probably going to have to guard Jimmy Butler. And then there’s a cross matchup with Jaden McDaniels and/or Mike Conley, which will not guard Jimmy Butler. I think the Warriors actually have a matchup advantage in this series offensively, and they’re going to be harder to guard than Minnesota for some reason.
Surprisingly, it was Charles Barkley who picked the Wolves over the Warriors.
“I’m going to take Minnesota. I think Minnesota’s playing really, really well right now. Ant is a helluva a player. His confidence is sky-high,” said Barkley, who then suggested that “Minnesota’s going to have to go small a lot if they’re going to beat this team.
Shaquille O’Neal agreed with Barkley that Rudy Gobert could be played off the floor since the Warriors go with a small-ball lineup. The tallest starter for Golden State in its Game 7 win over Houston was Butler at 6-foot-7.
O’Neal is also concerned about Minnesota’s ability to defend Curry.
“I’m wondering what tactics Minnesota is going to go to defensively to try to stop Steph,” Shaq said. “They only got two guys that can really play like that: DiVincenzo and the other young fella that can deny. They don’t really have a lot of bodies, and you don’t want your guys getting tired chasing around Steph. I’m going with Golden State.
What’s funny is that Shaq couldn’t be more wrong about Minnesota only have two guys capable of defending Curry. He’s right about DiVincenzo, and the other “young fella” that he was unable to name is presumably Nickeil Alexander-Walker. But the Wolves could also throw Edwards or McDaniels at Curry.
If anyone needs to be concerned about players getting tired it’s Golden State since Minnesota has a deeper roster and is fresh after five days off compared to one day off for the Warriors. And oh by the way, Curry averaged 38 minutes per game in the seven-game series against Houston, and Butler was on the court for 40-plus minutes in four of the seven
One person who sees it going Minnesota’s way without much question is Bill Simmons of The Ringer.
“I think Minnesota should win this series and I think Golden State, I continue to think they’re a guy and a half short,” Simmons said on his podcast Monday. “You need eight guys against this Minnesota team because they’re deep, they have different lineups, they have size, they can go small, you have the Edwards piece where he’s just relentless on both ends. I think Minnesota should be more of a favorite.”
