NBA 2024-25: One Round Down

The Minnesota Timberwolves' season started with a massive blockbuster trade that sent the beloved longtime Wolf Karl-Anthony Towns to the Big Apple in exchange for a protected first-round pick and two rotational veteran pieces: Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.

October 2nd, 2024 produced a stunning NBA blockbuster: New York Knicks' stalwarts Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle to Minnesota in exchange for star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

NBA trades aren't an exact science. Some trades bring positive results instantaneously. Other trades take some time to produce good fruit.

For the Wolves, it was the latter. The franchise that had just pushed forward to their 2nd Conference Finals in franchise history last season started out of the blocks poorly this season -- beginning the year 8-10. On December 19th, the Wolves suffered a home bludgeoning at the hands of their preseason trade partners, the New York Knicks.

In a matchup that featured dual revenge games, Towns was spectacular in his return to the Twin Cities, dropped 32 points on just 12 shots while cashing all 5 of his three-point attempts in a dazzling shooting display.

Adversely, Randle and DiVincenzo turned in uneven performances in their first game vs New York since the trade on the way to a 133-107 nationally-televised drubbing of a loss.

If NBA trade "winners" and "losers" were determined in mid-December, the Wolves were the clear washouts here. The Wolves got spanked badly enough by New York that ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins jumped out the gym with... the boldest of declarations about the Wolves' prospects.

Thankfully for Minnesota, the NBA regular season is a grind -- 82 games full of peaks and valleys throughout. And more often than not -- talent will win out in the end.

And I don't think there's a player in the league today as talented -- as gifted -- as the 23-year-old budding superstar, Anthony Edwards.

Anthony Edwards celebrates during Minnesota's series-clinching victory in Game 5 of the 1st Round vs the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Much can be made about Edwards' ... messy behavior off the court. If you want more info on those aspects of his life, go check out TMZ.

ON the court, Edwards is an athletic marvel at the two-guard spot. In the first four seasons of his career that preceded this current one, Ant made a powerful imprint on NBA fans through his collection of vicious highlight dunks and general reckless abandon on both ends of the floor that has earned him comparisons to the great Michael Jordan. Lofty praise.

This season, though -- Edwards' fifth -- saw the young phenom change his approach on offense significantly. With the Wolves losing one of the game's great three-point shooters in KAT, the onus to replace that production fell in large part on Edwards.

Ant averaged roughly 7-and-a-half three-point attempts per game through his first 4 NBA seasons. He ramped those attempts all the way up to over 10 per game (!!!) this season. As was the theme for the Wolves' entire season, this wasn't a seamless adjustment for Ant by any means.

But he & the Wolves trusted the process and stayed in the belief that this was what was necessary to raise the team's ceiling come playoff time... despite what some high-profile dissenters had to say about it.

Edwards wound up leading the league in three-pointers made for the first time in his career, shooting a career-high 40-percent from distance. If you watched Edwards struggle with his jumpshot in college AND in his first few seasons in the Association, this feat speaks to Edwards' work ethic to improve his game and his creativity in doing so.

So it may stun you to see me say this: that wasn't even Edwards' BIGGEST area of growth as I see it.

Behind Edwards and improved play from Randle, DiVincenzo, Rudy Gobert, and the remainder of Minny's supporting cast, the Wolves caught fire, winning 17 of their final 21 regular season games to avoid the Play-In and clinch the West's 6th seed, setting up a matchup with LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lick Back Season

Are you familiar with the cliché, "styles make fights?" Look no further than the Wolves' last two playoff series. Especially as it concerns the newest Laker, Luka Doncic.

In last postseason's Western Conference Finals, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison -- before becoming the most hated man in Dallas this season -- put together as good a roster as you can around Luka last season, which gave Ant-Man and the Wolves fits in a series that ended in a disappointing 5-game defeat for Minnesota.

The Mavs' defensive scheme exposed Edwards' faults and limitations as a postseason playmaker. Ant committed some brutal turnovers in clutch time, and Dallas forced him to play in a crowd consistently with big men Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively walling off the paint and defending the rim. Throw in Luka's late-game prowess throughout that series, and, yeah. Minnesota was made quick work of.

Much can change in a year's time.

Fast-forward to these playoffs. Yes, the Lakers pulled off the deal of the century to acquire Doncic mid-season, but had to give up their only capable big man in Anthony Davis to do so. The Lakers attempted to address that subsequent hole in the middle by trading for talented Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams, but that trade fell apart due to Williams' alarming physicals.

As a result, Lakers first-year head coach JJ Redick was left with two options. Run the substandard Jaxson Hayes out there for extended minutes versus what is arguably the best rotation of bigs in the NBA in Gobert, Randle and Naz Reid, or commit to going small with the 6'7" Dorian Finney-Smith at center and live with the results.

Those results? Ant getting his lick back on Luka and playing his UNO reverse card: a 5-game gentleman's sweep -- the other way this time.

The Lakers threw a unique defensive scheme at Edwards, loading up and walling off his driving lanes to bait him into making high-risk passes into traffic. But this time, Edwards made the adjustments and shined as the Wolves' offensive engine, totaling 6+ assists in each of Minny's 4 victories (Ant only turned the ball over SIX times TOTAL in the series' 5 games).

It wasn't perfect for Edwards throughout the series -- he followed up a 43-point masterclass in Game 4 with a strugglebus shooting performance in Game 5 -- but his two starting bigs -- two of the most maligned & heavily criticized players in all the NBA -- stepped up in a major way.

Randle, who entered this series as statisically one of the worst playoff shooters ever, capped off a tremendous series with an efficient 23-point night in Game 5. And Gobert, who has gotten played off the floor by opponents' "small-ball" strategies in the recent past, dominated with a historic 27-point, 24-rebound effort to put the Lakers in the dirt for good.

Gobert and Randle have each had their struggles in postseason play, but both men stepped up in this year's first round to help the Wolves advance.

Styles make fights. And the Lakers wound up being such a walk-in-the-park matchup for Minnesota, due to their severe lack of both quality perimeter defense and rim protection. LeBron and Luka are both capable of being great enough individually to overcome any challenge or disparity, but it was just too much to ask from both superstars against this talented and battle-tested Timberwolves team.

Anthony Edwards, who -- I must reiterate -- is ONLY 23-years-old, is now on a legend eliminating spree. He swept his favorite player, Kevin Durant, in the first round last year. He's fresh off a gentleman's sweep of LeBron.

And now he'll take aim at the third superstar & future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer that defined this generation of basketball.

Gold Blooded

It wasn't easy for Stephen Curry & the Golden State Warriors in their first round series vs the higher-seeded Houston Rockets. The Warriors, much like the Wolves, had to scratch, claw, and kick their way into the postseason by going on a heater of a run to close the regular season.

Golden State looked hapless, lost, and in 11th place in the West before pulling the trigger on a much-needed deal, acquiring Jimmy Butler from Miami in February. Talk about a perfect fit. The quintessential "connector", as Steph Curry calls him. The 'Robin' to Curry's 'Batman', as Butler calls himself.

I think Buddy Hield can at least be 'Alfred' now, right?

Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler were steady in GSW's huge Game 7 win in Houston, but Buddy Hield (33 pts, 9 3PM) stole the show and led the way for Golden State.

The Warriors moved to 5-0 vs the Rockets in the postseason all-time -- all taking place in the Steph Curry era.

As for Hield, he was brought in to replace a Bay legend in Klay Thompson, after Thompson and the Warriors parted ways due to what everyone with knowledge of that situation likened to "irreconcilable differences."

The 35-year-old Thompson left for Dallas this past summer, signing for $17M a year in Dallas. The 32-year-old Hield signed for $9M a year in Golden State, as the Warriors hoped that Hield come at least come close to matching Klay's production at a lower cost.

It had been up-and-down for Hield and the Warriors in that regard throughout the season, but Golden State's bet paid full benefits during Game 7 in Houston. Hield was locked in from the jump, benefitting greatly from the heavy attention that the Rockets paid Steph Curry off-ball.

Buddy cashed 6 of his 7 three-point attempts on the way to a 22-point first half -- by far his best half as a Warrior -- and finished with 33 on the night. Steph (22/10/7/2/2) and "Playoff Jimmy" (20/8/7) each had their moments, and Draymond Green was his usual dominant self defensively from start to finish. But this was undoubtedly Buddy's night.

Throughout the history of the Warriors' dynasty, while Steph, Draymond, and now Jimmy can always be counted on to deliver in huge playoff games, they've always seemed to receive a boost from an unlikely source when it matters most.

Remember key role players like Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, and Leandro Barbosa, who always seemed to come up clutch with timely scoring surpluses? Buddy Hield can comfortably hang in that room now.

The Warriors were highly complimentary of the Rockets after Game 7. Seemingly everybody outside of Houston (including myself) thought this series was over after Game 3, where Butler was inactive due to a tailbone injury and the Warriors won anyway. Follow that up with a close Warriors win when Butler returned in Game 4, and it looked like it was curtains for the Rockets.

But Houston's vets -- Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Steven Adams -- were each instrumental in steadying the ship and rallying for two back-to-back blowout victories in Games 5 & 6 to even up the series after trailing 3-1.

Fred VanVleet has been outstanding in his postseason career vs Golden State -- both in the 2019 NBA Finals while with Toronto & also with the Rockets, despite defeat.

But there was just too much for head coach Ime Udoka & Houston to overcome vs the experience of Golden State. Young wings Jalen Green & Amen Thompson weren't consistent enough offensively.

Houston's star, Alperen Sengun, performed admirably at just 22-years-old, but wasn't efficient enough as an offensive hub to lead Houston to the second round. It will be fascinating to see where Houston goes from here in the offseason, as they're fully expected to be in the star-hunting mix.

So it'll be the Warriors and Wolves in Round 2. Surprise, surprise! The Warriors are betting underdogs in a playoff series for the first time in the Steve Kerr era.

That's a testament to how dangerous the Wolves look right now. They're the more athletic team and Ant can win a game (or two) by himself. Nonetheless -- it should be an outstanding series -- maybe the most outstanding in the second round. And, boy, is that saying something.

Moments before disaster...

We Can Go MVP for MVP

The other 2nd round series in the West features a 3x MVP in Nikola Jokic & his Denver Nuggets vs the presumptive league MVP this season, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. If you want a refresher on just how dominant the Thunder have been to this point, I refer you to my previous article.

OKC made quick work of the Memphis Grizzlies, finalizing that 4-game sweep 9 days ago. I've almost forgetten that Alex Caruso is completely bald, it's been so long since the Thunder have been on the court.

The Nuggets on the other hand just finished a grueling, highly-competitive 7-game series by... blowing out the Clippers in the deciding game on Saturday.

So not only will this series be a matter of the old "rest-vs-rust" debate, it'll be a matter of which MVP will be able to carry their team to the highest level of play.

As much of a one-man wrecking crew that Jokic in particular can be at times, he'll need huge games throughout the series for Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, and even Russell Westbrook to overcome OKC's great depth.

It's impressive to me that Denver finds themselves here in the first place considering they fired their longtime coach Michael Malone just a week before the postseason. We'll see what they can do under interim coach David Adelman vs the team that might carry the most continuity in the NBA.

The Eastern Conference: Ground, Pound, Space, Pace

Despite the defending champion Boston Celtics' dominant 4-0 record and +16 average scoring differential vs the New York Knicks this season, the teams are more similar than you may think.

Both teams are extremely proficient at scoring the ball (both teams finished top-5 in offensive efficiency during the regular season). Both teams like to take their time in doing so (both teams finished bottom-5 in pace during the regular season).

Both teams played to their profiles in their first round series wins.

The Celtics did what everyone expected, and won their first rounder vs the Orlando Magic in 5 -- although it was closer than those five games would indicate.

The Knicks took their series vs the upstart Detroit Pistons in 6 in what was by far the most physical & intense series of the first round.

Jalen Brunson celebrates following his iconic game-winning, series-clinching three-pointer in Detroit at the conclusion of Game 6. | IMAGE CREDIT: RICK OSENTOSKI / IMAGN IMAGES

This series was pretty similar to the Warriors/Rockets series previously discussed. Although the Jalen Brunson-era Knicks don't have 4 championships to their name (at least not yet!), New York still found themselves as the much more experienced, playoff battle-tested team vs a Pistons team that won just 14 games last year.

The Pistons, led by franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham, didn't know what they didn't know, though. You see, inexperience can be a double-edged sword in sports. In Game 1, the Pistons played poised, leading by 8 points heading into the 4th at Madison Square Garden. That's great! Impressive.

Then they proceeded to give up 21 consecutive points in the 4th on the way to a brutal collapse and loss. Not great!

Following a bounce-back Game 2 victory to even the series up, the Pistons headed back to Detroit to attempt to end a drought of 17 years without a playoff victory at home.

The Knicks won Game 3, but the real drama took place in Game 4, where the Pistons once again carried a sizable lead into the 4th quarter. To make matters worse for New York, Brunson re-aggravated an injury just before the 4th to his right ankle that knocked him out for a month during the regular season.

In heroic fashion, Brunson returned to drop 15 points in the 4th. When Jalen slowed down a bit, Karl-Anthony Towns was there to close the deal, scoring 8 points in the final minutes. The game came down to a no-call on Josh Hart's contact on Tim Hardaway Jr's heave as time expired. Pistons' coach JB Bickerstaff screamed & pleaded, Detroit fans booed relentlessly, and the Knicks celebrated their cinematic 94-93 victory.

The Knicks/Pistons 1st Round series was largely defined by discussion about officiating -- most notably after the no-call that ended in a crushing loss for coach Bickerstaff & the Pistons in Game 4. | IMAGE CREDIT: DAVID GURALNICK / DETROIT NEWS VIA AP

After another Pistons win at MSG in Game 5, the series returned to Detroit for Game 6 where one of the most insane playoff games in recent memory ensued.

The Knicks led by 12 after 1.

The Pistons led by 2 at half.

The Knicks led by 11 after 3.

The Pistons led by 7 with under 3 minutes left.

And then the game was all knotted up at 113 with 20 seconds remaining.

Knicks ball, with the entire basketball world knowing full well who was going to have the ball for the final shot: the 2024-25 NBA Clutch Player of the Year, Jalen Brunson.

I reiterate: the Knicks got swept by the Celtics in the regular season, with 3 of the 4 games not even being close contests. I'm sure the Knicks would contend that the regular season means very little at this stage considering that New York also went 1-3 in the regular season vs the Pistons.

With that being said, so much has to go right for New York here in round two for them to have a chance vs the champs.

Brunson has to continue being a Michael Jordan-level postseason assassin (which he's fully capable of doing).

Towns has to present matchup problems for Boston consistently as Brunson's #2.

And the wings: Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby -- who each made huge plays in huge moments throughout the Pistons series, have to contain Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown far, far better than they were able to in the regular season.

Check the stats: Hart, Anunoby and Bridges all struggled mightily on both ends of the floor vs Boston in the regular season.

Maybe most importantly, notoriously-stubborn Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau must coach like his job depends on it -- which if you believe the reporting out of MSG before the playoffs got underway, it very well could be.

On the other side of the bracket, we've got an equally-enticing matchup between the East's 1st-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the 4th-seeded Indiana Pacers.

Thing weren't too difficult for each team in their first round series, although the Pacers' battle with the Milwaukee Bucks produced a good amount of headlines.

Indiana was once again aided by the injury bug harassing their postseason opponents, as Bucks star Damian Lillard brutally ruptured his Achilles in Game 3.

In Game 5, the Bucks were in prime position to secure a victory before a brutal collapse down the stretch which was capped by a Tyrese Haliburton game-winning layup past the outstretched arm of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

If that wasn't crazy enough, Tyrese's father John IMMEDIATELY walked onto the court after the buzzer sounded and waved a towel with his son's likeness on it right in Giannis' face. Let me just say: Giannis is a much better man than me for handling it how he did.

The Cavs and Pacers, much like the Celtics and Knicks, play a very similar style of hoop -- just in a different way.

Both teams are powered by their dynamic guard play, athletic wings, and versatile bigs. Both teams rely on their benches heavily, and both teams LOVE to run up-and-down the court at will. And all of that was on full display in Game 1 on Sunday.

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (22 pts, 13 asts) led the way in Indiana's statement Game 1 win @ Cleveland. | IMAGE CREDIT: JASON MILLER / GETTY IMAGES

Pacers stole home court and won Game 1, 121-112. The Cavs and their fans probably aren't more alarmed by the loss than they are alarmed by the status of their star point guard, Darius Garland.

Garland, who enjoyed a career year en route to leading the Cavs to a franchise-record 64 wins, has been out since Game 3 of the first round with a toe injury. His status for Game 2 of this series is still up in the air, and even if Garland is able to go; there's serious doubt about just how effective he'll be.

The Cavs, as stated before, have tremendous depth on their bench, as evidenced by reserve guard Ty Jerome's 21-point night in place of Garland.

But the Pacers, fresh off a run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, present significant problems for the Cleveland that will necessitate Garland making an impact on this series at some point. We'll see how that story continues to unfold ahead of Tuesday's Game 2.

Cavs point guard Darius Garland & his toe injury have become the mystery of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. | IMAGE CREDIT: KEN BLAZE / IMAGN IMAGES

Four Beauties

Warriors/Wolves.

Nuggets/Thunder.

Knicks/Celtics.

Pacers/Cavs.

As somebody that considers themselves a hoop historian, I can't give you too many better 2nd rounds in the history of the NBA postseason than this one. Not one dud in sight -- four series rich with storylines, dramatics, and most importantly, skill.

Any combination of Conference Finals series with these teams in the pool would make me happy. It's a matter of opinion, sure. But I don't see a less-than-satisfactory matchup anywhere.

It's a beautiful time to be a basketball fan -- ratings conversations aside.

By the way; do we have an update on all of that?