NBA Conf Semis PREVIEW: Can Anyone Stop the Timberwolves?!

Peter Klein

The 2025 NBA Conference Semi-Finals are here! 🏀 In this video, we preview all three epic matchups:  Celtics vs. Knicks: Boston dominated the regular season. Are the Knicks just outmatched?  Nuggets vs. Thunder: Jokic and the Nuggets need perfection. Can OKC’s depth and speed overwhelm them?  Timberwolves vs. Warriors: Steph has the magic—but Minnesota might be too good. Can the Warriors force Rudy Gobert off the floor?  We break down key matchups, X-factors, and give our honest predictions. No fluff. Just real basketball talk.  🧠 Drop your picks in the comments! Who's going to the Conference Finals?  ➤ Subscribe for NBA Playoff coverage, analysis & bold predictions!  #NBAPlayoffs #CelticsVsKnicks #NuggetsVsThunder #TimberwolvesVsWarriors #StephCurry #Jokic #Timberwolves #NBA2025 #PlayoffPredictions #NBAAnalysis  🔗 Stay Connected & Support the Show 🎧 Listen & Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/couch-potato-diary/id1564122189  Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM 🧠 Partners & Promos:  C of Dead Apparel → https://www.cofdead403.ca/  Swift Energy → https://www.swiftenergy.gg/?ref=mriusnqm  🎁 Use Promo Code: PKPrimetime for 25% off! 📲 Follow Me:  Twitter (X) → https://x.com/primetimeklein  Instagram → https://instagram.com/primetimeklein  Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/Couchpotatodiary  Twitch → https://twitch.tv/primetimepk 📬 Business Inquiries & Fan Mail:  Email → couchpotatodiary@yahoo.com

Transcript

00:00the NBA is salivating with some major matchups in the second round of the NBA's playoffs let's begin

00:14out east as you get major market against major market it's the Knicks it's the Celtics every

00:20sport loves to have themselves a Boston versus New York series this one though I don't know if

00:27it's gonna last very long while I love this Knicks team I I have concerns that it took that much to

00:34put the Pistons away and the Celtics I'm not gonna say they had an easy time because they got a little

00:39bit banged up in that series with Orlando and Orlando can be a little bit tough to play but

00:42they only had to deal with that for a couple of games and now they've been sitting and watching

00:46while the Knicks have been beating themselves up against the Detroit Pistons the Knicks made a

00:52couple moves this offseason to try to counter what Boston can do specifically they brought in

00:58Bridges and I think the the thought there is I mean a there's a rapport obviously but the thought is

01:04we have Bridges and Ananobi that can kind of lock up on Tatum and on Brown and then after that we have

01:13um we have Brunson we have Hart and we have Towns they can outscore White, Holiday, and Porzingis

01:22and now we're going to have the advantage there the problem is uh that has not worked

01:27Tatum has really beat up on the Knicks this year and the Celtics have really beat up on the Knicks

01:32this year and it's just this was where it was always going to be really challenging for New York

01:37because they rather famously struggled in the regular season against the the Celtics the Cavs and

01:43the Thunder not being able to beat any of those teams in important at least regular season games

01:49that is a gigantic red flag and it is all because those guys have not been able to stop

01:55Tatum and Brown specifically Tatum who has kind of gone off on them as that the season went on so

02:00if if those guys can step up and find the way to lock down Tatum and and um Brown there I think that

02:08would be I mean just a gigantic boost for this team obviously I just don't see it happening

02:13I think the more likely scenario is that White or whoever can do a good job of locking down

02:20a Jalen Brunson and now all of a sudden the Knicks well they are effective when Brunson's not on the

02:27floor um now all of a sudden the Knicks have to try to figure out a way to get things going without

02:32their number one offensive threat threat so I just I think while trying to match up with Boston

02:38they almost because it didn't work exactly they have almost created a really really bad style

02:44matchup for themselves and that's going to be a big problem for this group in this series I don't

02:49think the Celtics have much problem with it uh they are the minus 700 favorites going into this right

02:53now I think they kind of mop the floor with the Knicks and I think a lot of questions will be asked

02:57coming out of this one I think the Celtics cruise to a five game series win out in the Western

03:03Conference you have the Denver Nuggets taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder it is a Nuggets team that

03:10won a championship a couple of years ago against a Thunder team that people are thinking are going

03:14to be contending for titles for years to come initially you look at this one and I mean this

03:22is it's a fantastic matchup both matchups out west are really good and you can see where Denver would

03:27have the edge right like that well okay Hartenstein and um and Chet and all those guys are great uh but

03:36it's it's Jokic it's Murray it's Porter it's Gordon it's Westbrook when he's going it's Brown like

03:40this is this is a high level team but then that's kind of all it is and with the Thunder holy smokes

03:47like Shea playing at an MVP level and then after like the Dort and the guys who we mentioned and

03:53Wiggins and the Williams and it's just there is so much high level talent on this Oklahoma City team

03:59so obviously like the the way that Denver wins this series is that Jokic is the best player and

04:06honestly I think the way they win this series is Jokic is the best player you will grant SGA second

04:13I think Murray has to be the third best player in this series it can't be a Williams or a Holmgren or

04:18whoever um Oklahoma City wants to put out there Jamal Murray the Murray that showed up for 40

04:24off in game six and has had major playoff performances he has to show up for seven games

04:30and he has to be the third best player in this series if Denver has two of the best three players

04:35that is their path to victory and honestly I think kind of their own path their only sorry path to to

04:42to a win it just gets so difficult because this Oklahoma City team is relentless defensively and

04:49I think if Jokic wants to to move away from the basket a little bit and try to create up top okay

04:56fine you have one guy who can do that but the rest of the defense is so locked down that no one's getting

05:01away there and so okay we're gonna pin him down on the perimeter or sorry pin him down on the paint

05:05well we have some of the best help defenders in the league that can come double even triple team him

05:09and we still trust our athleticism and our defensive awareness to be able to rotate around

05:13it so it's just they are they are relentless they are very difficult to play against and they can

05:18light it up on you offensively so Denver kind of has to hope that all of their guys can play to the

05:23absolute peak of their abilities Oklahoma City goes on a four game shooting drought and then maybe

05:30so it just it feels like when you're looking at paths to victory in this series it is easier to get

05:35there from an Oklahoma City standpoint than it is for Denver with Oklahoma City you can kind of pick

05:41and choose a few different ways that they're able to to really go but for Denver it is basically

05:46everyone who's awesome or has been awesome before has to stay awesome for seven games and then maybe

05:54we will see but they just Oklahoma City has so many guys they can throw you into a torture chamber

05:58on defense and really just lock this thing down and all those great cuts and all the great

06:03movements than everything that Denver's offense can do I think Oklahoma City can have a counter for

06:08that so I I think OKC gets the job done I think it's going to be a very fascinating series but I

06:14don't think it's going to be a long one I think it's OKC in five again and now Minnesota against

06:19Golden State again a fascinating matchup when you look at how the Warriors just battled through that

06:25Houston team to get into this to go from the play-in to the second round

06:29I mean the the obvious thing is hey if you can shut down Curry that feels pretty big because

06:36again like we talked about it a little bit earlier with how well the um how well the Rockets kind of

06:43limited Steph Curry okay yes but then Golden State went out and did that thing where it was healed it

06:48was green it was Butler who were putting on the performances that kind of got them the rest of the

06:53way um okay fine do that four times against us if you if we if you can do that four times against us

07:00fine we'll do that the the interesting matchup here because there's a lot of very I think fascinating

07:05subplots with this series but what does Rudy Gobert do in this because it was one thing when he went

07:13out there and he just dominated size-wise against the Lakers especially in that last game

07:18while there isn't that major size for sure on the Golden State Warriors and you would assume that

07:25he would have a bit of that height edge to him or something like that these are also kind of the

07:29smaller teams that he has been played off of the floor against before and I I think that Jimmy Butler

07:36would take great joy in doing that to Minnesota well I mean the the remnants of Minnesota aren't there

07:42anymore from his time a long time ago I do still think that this is a guy who motivates

07:47himself in the it motivates himself in that way and I think he would take great joy in that I I do

07:53wonder like where what do they do with Gobert and how does Golden State kind of attack that because

08:00like you can't there isn't an obvious center most of the time with Golden State out there and you can't

08:07have him on Draymond because he is so active out on the outside and that's just that that's taking him

08:13away from what you need now we kind of talked about this how the Lakers had an offense that could play

08:18him off of the floor at times and that obviously didn't happen so that they have obviously adjusted

08:22things in that way all of this may not matter because Anthony Edwards is that good and he has

08:28been just an absolute beast at times and now it can go cold shooting the basketball can go cold at

08:34times for him but then again you look at some of the depth pieces that they have had and like Gobert

08:38steps up in a big time way um DiVincenzo has been excellent at times and Julius Randle found another

08:44level in that Laker series and so when you are stacking that up against Golden State I just like

08:50yes it is Butler and it's Heald and it's Green who've been able to do that Podzemski has had some

08:55bigger moments in the postseason so far as well but I just don't think they stack up as well now

09:00against Minnesota's either and so I just I worry that Minnesota has the best player and maybe the best

09:06secondary options behind that and it could be difficult again the way Golden State wins this

09:12is that their offense is able to play Gobert off of the floor and Minnesota tries to take Curry away

09:17and now Butler has a big series and now you don't know where to go and now this free-flowing offense

09:22can go Minnesota's defense is so good I don't necessarily anticipate that happening but I think

09:26this is going to be another battle I think it's going to be another long one I think it's going to

09:29be very fascinating to see how this all plays out I think Minnesota does get the job done though

09:34in six

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