Wolves-Thunder series predictions from the Timberwolves On SI staff

The Minnesota Timberwolves are back in familiar territory: the Western Conference finals.

The Wolves booked their return trip to the conference finals after taking care of the Golden State Warriors in five games and didn't find out their opponent until Sunday when the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal. The best in the West now face off for a trip to the NBA Finals.

Can the Wolves take the next step this season and reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, or will the Thunder, who've been the NBA's best team all season, make it two straight losses in the conference finals for Minnesota?

Our staff at Timberwolves On SI made their picks for the Western Conference finals:

Nolan O'Hara: Thunder in 7

This will be a much different series than the first two rounds for the Wolves. The Thunder have the depth the Los Angeles Lakers lacked. They have the size both the Lakers and Golden State Warriors didn't feature on their rosters. And on top of it all, they still bring the star power with the likely MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Now, that's not to say the Timberwolves can't win this series. Anthony Edwards is a superstar and playoff riser. Julius Randle has proven he can deliver his best in the postseason, too. And Minnesota has the depth to compete with OKC. This series is frankly a toss-up and anyone's for the taking between the two best teams in the West. But ultimately, the numbers showed the Wolves were a better team than the Lakers and Warriors. That's not the case against the 68-win Thunder, who feature the league's top-ranked defense and a top-three offense to go along with it. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Timberwolves pull off the upset, but it's hard to bet against a squad that's been the best and most consistent team in the NBA. OKC wasn't quite ready last year, but ran it back with the same group and the results and cohesion have shown. The best team usually wins a best-of-seven series, and the Thunder have been the best team all year. They come out the other side of a seven-game dogfight.

Will Ragatz: Thunder in 7

This series is going to be an absolute battle between the two best teams in the Western Conference. The Thunder have been dominant all season, while the Wolves have played at a similarly elite level since Julius Randle’s return from a groin injury on March 2. The Thunder are fairly significant betting favorites in the series, but it should be viewed as closer to a toss-up. When Anthony Edwards and Randle are playing at their best, with Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels thriving on defense and the other four players in the rotation knocking down 3s, the Wolves can beat anybody. With that said, it’s hard not to give the slight edge to the Thunder, who have home-court advantage and are coming off of one of the best statistical regular seasons in NBA history. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP-level scorer, Jalen Williams can get hot as a No. 2 and the Thunder have the size on the interior to match up with the Wolves’ frontcourt. The concern for Minnesota is its ability to take care of the ball against Oklahoma City’s suffocating, opportunistic defense. I desperately hope to be wrong, but I’m going OKC in 7.

Tony Liebert: Wolves in 7

The Thunder are the first team the Timberwolves have faced this postseason that can match their depth. Expect this series to be much more competitive than the betting odds reflect. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards are two of the best young stars in the league, and both of these teams were built through the draft and trades rather than big-money free agents. The biggest difference in this series will be Julius Randle. Jalen Williams has been an effective No. 2 option for OKC, but Randle has leveled up this postseason, and he's the more reliable second option. Randle's dominance will carry into the conference finals and Minnesota wins a hard-fought seven-game series.

Jonathan Harrison: Wolves in 6

After nailing the first two rounds, the pressure is on here to get this one correct as well. This is obviously the toughest series the Wolves haven undertaken this postseason. The experience from last season comes into play here. Minnesota has been to the Western Conference finals before; this OKC side hasn't. Sure, they're young and talented and likely have the MVP in SGA on their side, but the Wolves' depth isn't too shabby either. A motivated Ant that has the help from Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, etc., will have the edge over the young Thunder. Give me Wolves in six, closing out the series at a raucous Target Center to go to their first-ever Finals.

Joe Nelson: Wolves in 6

These are the two best teams in the West since March, and the matchup features four of the best players in the league so far this postseason: Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle for Minnesota, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams for OKC. Both teams have great bigs: Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein for OKC, and Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid for the Wolves. If the stars and the bigs cancel each other out, this could come down to the best of the rest. Can Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker outperform Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins? That's a stupid question, and the answer is yes. Minnesota is going to steal Game 1 or Game 2, and it's not going to lose at home to a Thunder team that has NEVER played this late in the season. Minnesota had tired legs against Dallas in the conference finals last year, but that won't be the case this time. Wolves in six.

Links to previous predictions

• First-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers
• Semifinal against the Golden State Warriors

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