And just like that, the Western Conference playoffs were down to two. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in game six last night to advance to their first Western Conference finals since the 2017 season. They will take on the defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This has the potential to be the best Western Conference finals since the 2016 series between the Thunder, back when they had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at the peak of their powers against the 73-3 Golden State Warriors. Let’s go ahead and dive headfirst into this matchup between two of the best teams in the NBA this season.

Spurs vs Thunder Regular Season Recap

It’s only fitting that the last two teams standing in the Western Conference are these two behemoths. The Thunder got off to such a historic start that many believed they had a chance to dethrone the Warriors’ 73-regular-season-win record.

They dominated everyone in their past, except for one team. The Spurs gave OKC not only their toughest games but also clipped them the most during the regular season. In those five regular-season matchups, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs took four of those games.

When you consider those five games, we didn’t have massive games statistically. Now in the regular season, he only averaged 25 minutes per game against OKC. In those five games, he averaged 18.4 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game on very efficient shooting, 52.4% from the floor. Conversely, SGA was his normal, efficient self against the Spurs.

In the regular season, he averages just under 30 points per game, 29.8, on an extremely efficient 50.9% from the floor. In the last two games, he shot sub-48 % in both, 47.8% and 36.8%. It’s going to take SGA to have an MVP-type performance as he did in game against the Los Angeles Lakers last round for the entirety of the series.

Spurs keys to victory

The biggest key for the San Antonio Spurs advancing to the NBA finals for the first time since 2014 will be their role players, specifically their bench. The biggest reason the Thunder defeated the Lakers in the last round was not their star players, but their bench. When their MVP left the floor, OK feasibility to send wave after wave of positive defenders who can bully other teams.

Perimeter players have been the key to back-to-back dominant regular seasons and a finals win last season. Now, the Spurs are the only team that can almost match their perimeter talent and secondary production. You look at blue-chip players like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, and the reigning sixth man of the year, Keldon Johnson, who can match the athleticism and production of OKC’s perimeter players.

After Victor Wembanyama Elbowed Naz Reid and was ejected in game four against Minnesota, we saw him come out in game five and beat the brakes off the Timberwolves early, just flat-out dominating them. He has been, in my opinion, the best player in the playoffs. His ability to impact the game on defense is almost as impactful as that of any pure offensive player.

What makes him so unique is that Anthony Edwards said it last series in the fact that there are things on the court that you can’t stop. There are things that the 22-year-old superstar does that you can’t account for; you can’t count the shots that he impacts just by being on the floor and teams refusing to attack the paint.

Thunder’s Path to Success

The biggest benefit of sweeping LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the last round is that it gave J Dub extra time to rest his hamstring. For a player who missed the majority of the regular season, it was great to see him ease his way back in the first round against the Phoenix Suns.

He will be needed against the Spurs. Just the ability to give the Thunder an extra ball handler will be massive in this series. We saw against the Lakers that Ajay Mitchell looked like the second-best player on OKC. When your tertiary players perform the way he did, you are almost unbeatable.

A player I want a spotlight on in this series is Chet Holmgren. He was a defensive menace against LA, everywhere he needed to be off the ball, spotting up in the corner, crashing off the glass, and being a great help-side defender. For as great as he was against the Lakers, he must be even better in this matchup against Wemby. They’ve gone back and forth every time they have been on the court together.

In terms of trash-talking, physical play, or flat-out, it seems they don’t like each other. And that’s the matchup now: they will have Isaiah Hartenstein hovering around the paint to defend the rim if Wemby can get past Chet. If OKC can force him into long fall-away jumpers, those are difficult shots for even some of the best players in the league to hit consistently.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, you are the back-to-back MVP. You had a difficult series last round until you closed out the game, when you were sensational. Your team is going to need that for the eternity of the Western Conference finals. Am I expecting 30 a night? No, however, he must imprint his name and game every single time he is on the court in this series.

You have not been a high-volume turnover player, and you did clean it up in games three and four vs LA, but you cannot almost double your average innings per game from the regular season to a playoff series and expect the same result. The Spurs’ perimeter athleticism might give you trouble, but you have the argument that you are the best player in the world. It’s time to go out and show it and defend the Thunder’s championship.

Who Reaches The Finals?

This is the matchup. Everybody was waiting for the second. The Spurs appeared to be a championship-contending team; everyone wanted to see it come down to the Thunder and San Antonio. This could be the determining series and how teams are built in the future. On one side, you have a franchise that’s made savvy, move after savvy, move, and built, almost a juggernaut in which you have your core three and then pieces that are almost interchangeable in OKC.

As for the Spurs, you have a Dynasty in the making, potentially. With the emergence of Dylan Harper this season as a rookie, Stefan Castle, taking another leap, and Victor Wembanyama planting his flag as a top-five player in the world, this could be the team for the next 10 years. With all that said, I believe the San Antonio Spurs will defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games and reach the finals for the first time since their 2014 championship run.

Spurs Def. Thunder 4-2

Final thoughts

This series is the definition of get your popcorn ready. In-game one is on Monday night. I, like many NBA fans, am drooling at this matchup. The second they were number one and number two seeds, they were on a collision course, and now the NBA world is watching. Who do you think will represent the West in the NBA Finals? And will this series determine who the best player in the world is?

As always, thank you so much for checking out my thoughts and preview on the Western Conference between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder! Be sure to check out our other amazing content here at New Leaf News! Thank you for making us part of your day, and look forward to seeing you again soon.