The official website predicts that the Timberwolves will eliminate the Warriors 4-2! Huazi Curry stages a superstar showdown, dream-chasing PK Gobert

On May 5, the Warriors successfully defeated the Rockets and advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals after a tiebreak battle. Their upcoming opponent is the Timberwolves in a hot state. The NBA official website also made a foresight and prediction of the upcoming series, boldly predicting that the Timberwolves will eventually eliminate the Warriors with a score of 4-2. This prediction undoubtedly adds more highlights and suspense to the upcoming game.

The core highlights focus on superstar duels

The highlight moment belonging to Edwards has arrived. In the past 12 months, Edwards has shown extraordinary strength on the playoff stage, eliminating a number of superstars such as Durant, Jokic, James and Doncic. Now, he has set his sights on Curry. Whether this Warriors star can become a new member of his "defeated player" list has become the focus of everyone's attention. Edwards is at the golden age and critical stage of his career. He is like a rising star, fearlessly chasing his dream of becoming a league superstar. He used his practical actions to prove again and again that he had the ability to become a signature figure in the NBA, happily accepted every challenge, and was eager to write his own legend at important moments and on the stage. The Warriors are about to face serious challenges, just like those teams that once tried to stop Edwards. Draymond Green is undoubtedly one of the best defensive players in the Warriors, but his speed is not enough to limit Edwards' breakthrough. It's like in front of a train running at a high speed, a slightly lower speed car can't stop its pace of progress. At this point, Jimmy Butler may need to stand up, like a heroic guardian, perhaps one of the few players in the league who can make Edwards struggle every goal. Edwards shines with the light of the single-core superstars in the past, just like Nowitzki in 2011 and Wade in 2006. However, his basketball journey is still long, and Curry will never give up easily. A fierce superstar showdown is about to begin.

Potential conflicts worth paying attention to

The possible conflict between Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert has become a major highlight of the series. Judging from most of the first round of the playoffs, the NBA's penalty for physical confrontation is relatively relaxed. And to what extent the league will "turn a blind eye" when these two defensive masters face off on the court is really curious. You know, the relationship between them is not very harmonious, and there are complex historical origins. The most notorious scene happened two years ago in November, when Draymond Green grabbed Gobert and used a throat locking action on him.

This bad behavior has caused Draymond Green to be suspended for five games, and may even cost him the opportunity to be selected for the 2024 US national team. Strangely, there is no clear reason why they hate each other. There is a saying that Draymond Green is jealous of Gobert's four-time selection of the year's defense player, and he has won only once himself, and Draymond has also ridiculed Gobert's number of awards in the past. However, these two defensive masters usually have no sense of presence on the offensive end. Apart from Gobert's outstanding offensive performance in Game 5 of the first round, they also do not need to defend each other, but the potential conflict is still heartbreaking.

The points that both sides deserve attention in terms of the Warriors, Kumingga's fate in the bench is of concern. He played only three games in the first round, as head coach Cole was dissatisfied with him and turned to a three-back lineup composed of Curry, Hilder and Pojemsky. However, in this round of the series, the Warriors may need Kumingga's height and athleticism, after all, the Timberwolves have certain advantages in this regard. Kumingga is like a double-edged sword. Whether he will be in a state of unfamiliar state or will be full of fighting spirit to regain his state and bring surprises to the team, everything is still unknown. Randall's performance has attracted much attention on the Timberwolves. The "haze" that has plagued Randall in the past playoffs may have been wiped out by him. While in the Knicks, he either couldn't play due to injury or struggled after playing. But in the game against the Lakers, he averaged 22.6 points per game, shot 48% from the field, and also performed well on the defensive end. He has been pretty good with the Timberwolves so far, although a great performance in the round does not fully prove that he has achieved self-salvation. In order to convince those who are skeptical, even his new teammates, Randall needs to continue his good form against the Warriors, which is not only about his position in the team, but also may affect whether he can get a generous contract extension this summer.

The story behind the key data

In the first round, the Timberwolves scored 40 points higher than the Lakers in the fourth quarter, which is shocking. They took the lead in the fourth quarter of all five games, and even completed the reversal and won in Game 4 with 10 points behind in the fourth quarter, as if a team suddenly burst out with powerful power in the dark. In the fourth quarter of these five games, Naz Reed made 6 of 6 three-pointers, but other Timberwolves players made only 10 of 41 shots from outside the three-point line in those 60 minutes.

Despite this, the Timberwolves' offensive data are still excellent, and their defense is even more amazing. They have allowed the Lakers to score only 81 points per 100 leg in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves also performed the best in the fourth quarter in the regular season (+9.2 net points per 100 rounds), but in three games against the Warriors, both of their lost games were reversed in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were the sixth best team in the fourth quarter in the first round (greater score per 100 rounds +17.0). This series of data comparisons adds more uncertainty to the upcoming series..

Series Schedule Outlook

Series Schedule Schedule as follows: G1 (9:30 on May 7): Warriors vs. Timberwolves (Timberwolves home court), this will be the opening game of the two sides' series. Can the Timberwolves, who are fighting at home, take the lead and give the Warriors a warning? G2 (8:30 on May 9): Warriors vs. Timberwolves (Timberwolves home court), can the Timberwolves who return to their home court take advantage of the victory? G3 (8:30 on May 11): Timberwolves vs. Warriors (Warriors home court), can the Timberwolves who come to the Warriors territory withstand the pressure? G4 (10:00 on May 13): Timberwolves vs. Warriors (Warriors' home court), the stalemate in the game may make both sides more cautious. G5 (May 15): Warriors vs. Timberwolves (Timberwolves home court), if necessary, this will be the key battle that determines the direction of the series. G6 (May 19): Timberwolves vs. Warriors (Home Warriors), can the Timberwolves defend their home court if needed? G7 (8:30 on May 21): Warriors vs. Timberwolves (Timberwolves home court), if necessary, this will be the final place of decisive battle.

The prediction result is that the Timberwolves advanced 4-2. When the playoffs are at this stage, there is usually a rule: Teams with the best players tend to win. In this case, it is difficult to argue that Edwards is the better one, even if he is going to compete with Curry. There is another trend: the teams in the hottest state will win. Similarly, the Timberwolves have an advantage in this regard. Both teams have eliminated higher-ranked seeds to advance here, but the Timberwolves' performance looks even more impressive. With their defense, depth of the roster and Edwards’ outstanding performance, they look to have enough motivation to make it to the Western Conference Finals again.