Wolves-Warriors series predictions from the Timberwolves On SI staff

It's official: The Minnesota Timberwolves will meet the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.

After taking care of the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in their first-round series, the Wolves have been waiting for their second-round opponent, which became official Sunday night when the Warriors beat the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of their first-round series. The sixth-seeded Wolves will have home-court advantage over the seventh-seeded Warriors, and Game 1 of their semifinal series will take place at 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday night at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

There are definitely no shortage of things to get excited about in this one, from Jimmy Butler's return to Target Center to Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green's ongoing beef. In the end, someone will have to come out on top of the best-of-seven matchup. Our Timberwolves On SI staff made their picks for the winner, who advances to the Western Conference finals:

Nolan O'Hara: Wolves in 6

The Warriors have the same problem as the Lakers: lack of size. Now, the Warriors are better defensively, and they do have more serviceable bigs than L.A., but even Steve Kerr will have difficulty game planning for the sheer size advantage Minnesota has with Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid. And that's just an additional wrinkle as the primary focus will be on containing Anthony Edwards, who's a constant threat whether or not the ball is in his hands. The Warriors showed they're a great defensive team against the Rockets, but the Wolves are also much, much better offensively than Houston.

Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler are great players who will make everything difficult, but the Wolves also have a roster full of guys who like to guard. And Minnesota is just bigger, faster, stronger, deeper and fresher. The better team usually comes out on top in a best-of-seven series, and the Wolves are simply the better team. They just need to execute the game plan.

Will Ragatz: Wolves in 6

Prior to the first round, I was the only one here who picked the Lakers, giving them the nod in seven games. That was partially due to concerns about the Wolves’ clutch-time offense against Luka Doncic and LeBron James, but it was mostly because it felt like bad juju if our entire staff picked the Wolves. I’m not going to let any superstitions affect my pick this time. The Wolves deserve to be favorites heading into this series. They’re deeper, they’re bigger and they’re younger than the Warriors, who are coming off a physical seven-game series against Houston. Steph Curry remains a terrifying player to go against, and his brilliance will help Golden State win a couple games in this series, but it won’t be quite enough.

Chris Finch’s team has so many ways it can win on a given night, regardless of opponent. In this matchup, the size of Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels on the interior will be tough for the Warriors to contend with. Minnesota also has seven guys who can make shots from long range, and numerous defenders who can at least make things difficult on Curry, Jimmy Butler and Golden State's other scorers. And most importantly, the Wolves have Anthony Edwards, a fiery young superstar who is ready to add Curry and Draymond Green to the list of future Hall of Famers he’s sent home in the last two postseasons. Ant will be the best player on the court in a six-game Minnesota victory.

Tony Liebert: Wolves in 6

Betting odds reflect the Timberwolves being favored to advance past the Warriors, but the national media doesn't seem to agree. Between Jimmy Butler's return to Minnesota and the ongoing beef between Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green, there will be plenty of storylines to go around. We just saw Minnesota take advantage of the Lakers' small-ball lineup, and we'll see the same against Golden State. Butler and Stephen Curry are too good of players to overlook, and there will be a game or two where the Wolves simply don't have an answer. But Minnesota's depth and growing experience in high-pressure playoff series will be enough to help the Wolves advance to the next round.

Jonathan Harrison: Wolves in 5

This one sets up for potentially the series of the postseason. So many stories. So much drama. On the court however, the Timberwolves have several advantages over the Warriors. Minnesota's relative youth compared to the age of the Golden State roster will be a big factor in this series, especially early on with the Warriors having just one day of rest after a brutal seven-game series with Houston. Minnesota's size will be key as well with Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels. Wolves blow by the aging former dynasty of the Warriors.

Joe Nelson: Wolves in 5

You'd be crazy to have no fear of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler on a Steve Kerr-coached team. Anyone who has sniffed a second or two of a Warriors game since they acquired Butler at the trade deadline knows that they play ferociously on the defensive end, and they can shoot the lights out. Curry is a shooting god while Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Butler can all knock down shots from deep. These guys are dangerous, but they're going to be outclassed by a Timberwolves team that remains fueled by the national media doubters. Curry averaged 38 minutes against the Rockets, and Butler was on the floor for 40-plus minutes in four games. That's not sustainable against a Minnesota team that will make them work extremely hard for everything on both ends of the floor. And the Wolves are just too big. Butler, at 6-foot-7, was the tallest player in the starting lineup for the Warriors in Game 7. Look what happened to the little Lakers against Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Minnesota's bigs. Age, size and stress from a seven-game series, and facing a motivated Anthony Edwards, are going to be too much for Golden State to overcome. The Wolves will take a 2-0 series lead and then close things out in Minnesota in Game 5.