2019-20 Playoffs: Position-by-Position 2020 NBA Finals Preview:
nba.com/timberwolves/wolvesbeat | May 27th, 2020
The Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers. Two teams you don’t hear much about this deep into the postseason. The Timberwolves are making their first appearance in the NBA Finals. The 76ers haven’t appeared in the NBA Finals since 2001 – 19 years ago. They haven’t won an NBA Finals since 1983. If the bookies in Vegas are to be believed, for the second NBA season in a row, we will have a franchise win its first NBA championship. How’s that for parity – after so many seasons of Cavaliers-Warriors showdowns.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by D’Angelo Russell, outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the championship series for the first time in franchise history.
With Karl Anthony-Towns and midseason acquisition breakout star Kelly Oubre Jr sharing the frontcourt, the Timberwolves provide a different set of challenges for the Philadelphia 76ers, who were swept by Minnesota during the regular season. This series should be more competitive for both teams than their previous encounters through the Finals.
Philadelphia are anchored by Joel Embiid, who is one of the top MVP candidates this season. He grabbed Toronto by the heart and owned the franchise the entire series, averaging almost 30 points per game. He’s done that all season long and it’s the biggest question mark Minnesota will face. Can they shut down Joel Embiid.
From Minnesota’s season sweep, we don’t know. In their December contest, Embiid played poorly – scoring just 10 points. He was unavailable for their mid-January clash which saw Minnesota complete the season sweep. Minnesota had issues guarding Tobias Harris in the second game, who came up with 32 points for the 76ers. Karl Anthony-Towns has had a quiet postseason on offense so far. Is this the series he breaks out? He led the Minnesota Timberwolves in scoring in both contests against the 76ers this season.
D’Angelo Russell exorcised his past this postseason. Gone are the demons which haunted him in LA, Brooklyn and San Francisco. He’s now one of the best young point guards in the league. Yes, he got shafted with no All-Star nomination. He’s quietly become one of the most polarising players in the league and he’s averaged 25.2 points per game in the postseason. His core numbers of points scored, rebounds and assists per game have all increased.
On the other side of the court is Ben Simmons who has consistently played a key supporting role for Joel Embiid. Simmons isn’t the type of slashing guard who’s going to need to be monitored on the outside like Russell. He does his damage on the inside and he does it well. He’s the best defensive point guard in the league. He’s the biggest point guard in terms of height and weight and will use that to his advantage against Russell. Expect Simmons to get physical with Russell, drawing fouls on the interior while forcing Russell to shoot from close range. If the 76ers want a chance to win the Finals, Simmons must take away Russell’s deep range capabilities.
Advantage: Minnesota
Here’s one of the more interesting matchups of the series and the most low key one. Both are fantastic mid-range shooters. There’s no better player in the league at shooting guard in the mid-range than Richardson, while Malik Beasley shot from beyond the arc better than anyone in the league this season.
Defensively, Richardson beats Beasley through his physical attributes and stats. Beasley is a pure sharpshooter. The more opportunities he’s going to get, the more to his advantage. Richardson will need to take away the corner shot which is the most dangerous piece of Beasley’s arsenal. For Beasley, he’s going to have to defend the best he’s ever done. Richardson hasn’t had the best of seasons this season, but he’s still dangerous if given the opportunity and he’s been reliant on defense.
That being said, Minnesota has the superior backcourt which consists of D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley. They’re more offensive orientated than the combination of Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson. Whichever duo plays better in their own styles will contribute heavily towards an NBA Finals victory or not. With Beasley more in form than Richardson, I’m going with Malik Beasley.
Advantage: Minnesota
This matchup here is the most important of the series. No, it's not Big Kat against Embiid. It's Kelly Oubre against Tobias Harris. Why? Because both are capable scorers and defenders. Kelly Oubre is having the playoffs of his life. He averaged around 14 points per game in the regular season. He broke out and single-handedly destroyed the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. Oubre is averaging 21.9 points per game throughout the postseason and has relieved the pressure and scored the points when D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns has been unable to do so. Oubre has broken out this postseason into a very good small forward. It's the type of midseason acquisition every team wants. Someone to come in and make a difference. Oubre has - it just happened in their run to the Finals. Much like Oubre, Tobias Harris is an outside scorer. He averaged 17.9 points per game during the regular season and 15.3 points per game during the postseason. He played well during the Conference Finals series and repetitively hurt the Raptors with his big nights.
Where will this matchup be won? Not near the rim that's for sure. Both are opportunistic shooters from the outside. The Timberwolves will need to be cautious of Harris from going inside for his typical tear drops. While he's a top 3-point and mid-range shooter in the league, the Timberwolves may actually be more reluctant to force him for close range shots. For Philadelphia, it's all about stopping the momentum. Once Oubre Jr has settled into the game with momentum behind him, he's been difficult to stop from deep, inside the arc and playing aggressively towards the rim to draw fouls. They need to force Oubre to miss early and have him be in cold spells. The Small Forward position could be the most influential in the decision as to who wins the Championship game. I'm going to go with Kelly Oubre, as his hot streak hasn't flamed out just yet.
Advantage: Minnesota
One is 20 years old. His career just starting. The other is 34 years old, his career outside looking in. The Power Forwards of this series is an intriguing one. There isn't a lot to go by on Naz Reid, who has started the power forward position and made it his own after January. He averages around 6 points per game and has helped the Minnesota Timberwolves improve on the defensive side of the court. His biggest challenge will be defending Al Horford, who is a known outside scorer. Horford will use his experience to his advantage this series.
There's not been many rookies which have started an NBA Finals. Naz Reid will gain that distinction which is so rare. The inexperience is palpable compared to Al Horford, who will play a bigger for the Philadelphia 76ers. You have to roll with the experience with this one.
Advantage: Philadelphia
The matchup of the series. Karl Anthony-Towns vs Joel Embiid. When was the last time we saw two big centers draw the biggest matchup of the Finals? Both are at the top of the league in terms of skillset, with Joel Embiid an MVP candidate for guiding the 76ers to the second seed in the Eastern Conference this season. Both have such huge roles for their teams and are the cornerstones. KAT the inside-outside scorer. Embiid the paint beast. Both are incredible offensive threats, with Anthony-Towns averaging 25.0 points per game during the regular season. Embiid eclipsed the 30 point mark. These two players can score from anywhere, which makes them so dangerous as their so dominant in close range. Coming into the Finals, Embiid has been more in form, with Anthony-Towns playing better on defense this postseason than he has during the regular season.
How will the 76ers defend Anthony-Towns? What makes his game so great offensively is the ability of forcing defenders to bite when doing fakes in the posts. It's happened all season long. He's one of the best contact finishers in the game. Embiid will have his hands full defensively against a center who can pretty much do it all. Although different players, their skillsets crossover in many areas due to their versatility. Embiid is one of the best players in the league at finishing. Anthony-Towns can bring down the rebounds, nobody is better in the league than him at it - but, the question is can he defend an All-Star threat such as Embiid?
With all of that said, Joel Embiid is currently one of the best players in the NBA and is more important to the 76ers roster. This is the type of dream matchup you want to see and you're likely going to get every bang for your buck on this one.
Advantage: Philadelphia