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NBA Playoffs 2025: Knicks and Wolves Fall Short as Pacers and Thunder Rise

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The 2025 NBA Conference Finals ended with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers advancing to the Finals, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks respectively. We break down what went wrong for both losing teams and examine potential changes they should make to improve their championship chances.

• The Knicks need to determine if Jalen Brunson can be a true #1 option on a championship team
• Karl-Anthony Towns proved to be a solid second option but recorded zero blocks against the Pacers
• Tom Thibodeau was fired as Knicks coach - potential replacements include Chris Quinn and Jay Wright
• The Knicks should focus on better utilizing their depth and finding complementary players for their stars
• Minnesota's identity of "Anthony Edwards and defense" wasn't enough to get past OKC
• The Timberwolves must decide whether to run it back with Randle or find Edwards a more consistent co-star
• Edwards showed maturity in defeat, expressing disappointment about letting Mike Conley down
• Scottie Barnes could be an ideal running mate for Edwards - comparable to a Pippen-Jordan dynamic
• Both OKC and Indiana feature former champions (Siakam and Caruso) who bring valuable playoff experience
• The Finals begin June 5th with OKC as the slight favorite

Please like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone about the show. We'll dive deeper into the Finals matchup in tomorrow's episode.


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Speaker 1:

What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, trayton, as usual. I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're going to talk about my 2025 NBA update conference finals recap. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show, trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, today we're going to talk about the 2025 update conference finals breakdown, or at least recap. That's why I got on the ticker. But we're going to talk about my past expectations. I'm talking about the expectations prior to the conference finals happening, as well as the teams that lost. Right, we got the Knicks and we got the Wolves. So, with that being said, I mean and, ladies and gentlemen, y'all know how we do this is the playoffs. Right here Again, tip of the cap to OKC and the Pacers for going to the NBA finals.

Speaker 1:

Somebody going to be a champion for the first time outside of Pascal Siakam or Alex Caruso? Is Thomas Bryant on our squad too in 2020? I got to double check that one. He might have been, but either way, caruso, siakam, those are the two 10-year players, at least champions for both teams. So who's going to actually win? Well, before we talk about that, let's talk about my past expectations.

Speaker 1:

So again, ladies and gentlemen, I did say the Knicks and Wolves were going to win. All right, like you know what I mean, don, I did say the Knicks and Wolves were going to win All right, like you know what I mean, don't get like, don't say I was stupid. Let's not say that. Like, I had high expectations for both the Knicks and the Wolves. One I'll give you was a little tricky. I did like the commercial that they had, right, like the Wolves one where Dante DiVincenzo is leaving the Knicks and the Knicks is like hey, dante, we'll see you. You know what I'm saying. I like that one. That was partly the reason why I like the Knicks and Wolves. For the finals, I did have more basketball reasons. I had enough basketball reasons. Like I said, the Knicks, I thought, had the most NBA experience talent. You got to remember, too, the hype coming into the season. I felt like, once the Celtics got injured, this was their time. They couldn't get it done, though, and then in the finals, it felt too early, it felt premature. Here's the thing, though. It's felt the same way for OKC too, just a little bit. So again, I had reasons why I picked the Wolves and Knicks. Just ain't happening.

Speaker 1:

So what have we learned from the Knicks? Let's start with the losing teams. We got to ask ourselves, ladies and gentlemen, is Brunson a sufficient number one option? All right, like Jalen Brunson good players MVP candidate. Will the Knicks win a championship with him as the one option? I think the Mavs with him as the one option. I think the Mavs with him as a second option appear to be more dangerous.

Speaker 1:

So maybe the Knicks might need to do a little shuffling around. That could be the case, cat. I think Cat displayed he is a definitive second option on the squad. Now here's the thing, though Zero blocks versus the pacers. That's tough. Like you can't do that. I don't care, even if they brought in mitchell robinson to play center. And you, power forward. Yes, carl anthony towns's natural position is power forward. Again, though, zero blocks. That is a little tough. And you seven foot bro. You gotta change that. But a second option though he is, because again, he gave me about 20 points every game, double-double by every game. Like that's what he's able to do Now he can't carry the team, definitely support it at an elite level.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes you might think can he be a one option? That's my second option for me. So again, they got two options right now. Two second options. I appreciate it that the Knicks realized starting Mitchell Robinson that worked. Maybe you can start Josh Hart as well. You need some energy players because you got Jalen Brunson, who's high usage. You got Carl Anthony Towne, who likes to shoot the ball. You need people who can rebound and be those blue guys. I'm looking at players like Mikael Bridges or OG Ananobi. One of y'all might have to come off the bench and I might favor OG, just because I've seen Mikael carry a team like the Nets before, but he didn't showcase that. So that's making me think. Maybe he needs his own team just a little bit, and the second unit could be his own team. So maybe that works out.

Speaker 1:

The Knicks have the structure to be a contender. They just dropped the ball and it sucks too. They choked and the team that they choked against the Pacers. History is not on y'all's side Now. I would like to note that they did. They, meaning the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau. Congrats, and I'm not saying that to say I'm happy. Somebody lost their job, especially in today's society Ooh, everybody needs their paper, but I don't think Coach Thibs was the best coach for them. Again, you got the team on short leash champ and, as a result, they need to have a better coaching option Again. I thought the Knicks had the talent to win win. They didn't even utilize their depth until later on in the playoffs. Probably should have started that earlier and then shorten your rotations. Tips never gets this, though.

Speaker 1:

Now some changes that I would like to see. I hear the jay right conversations. I do. I get it. The villanova comparison right. The connection if connection. If they're going to go that route, you got to bring back Dante DiVincenzo. That's all I'm saying. Can't have the Nova boys and not have Dante, but Other names.

Speaker 1:

I'd like to see Chris Quinn. This is the top assistant to Eric Spolstra and I think someone like Quinn could fit with the New York regime, be decent for the New York management, because again, he's had good tutelage, the Heat culture. I'd like to think Quinn might pick up some things and also add his own twist, especially the top assistant to Eric Spolstra. I like to think he'd come from good stock, so that would be somebody I would love to see, because, again, tibbs coaching style has not worked and I'm happy that they were able to get rid of it and that shows me that the Knicks are trying to win.

Speaker 1:

Let's not forget, ladies and gentlemen, they have been around since the NBA's inception and since then they have won two championships. That's 2% of all the total championships that have been won in the NBA's history, and they are also valued as the most valued organization until just a couple years ago. So that sort of team is what we're talking about, ladies and gentlemen. There's a lot of pressure on the Knicks, but their championship should be put on a milk carton because they've only won 2% of the total championships that the NBA has even given out. But again, ladies and gentlemen, that is the Knicks. That is the Knicks. Unfortunately they are. They did, did lose. So now we got to talk about another squad, because, again, there's more teams to talk about than just the knicks, like the wolves.

Speaker 1:

Now I mentioned a couple things about the knicks, this wolves team, ladies and gentlemen. I think their identity is, as such, anthony edwards and defense. I don't think you win a championship with that. That's why I didn't necessarily want Anthony Edwards to go to the finals, him losing in the finals is going to be big on social media. Now I got to ask is Randall sufficient? Should you try to replace him or run it back? He had some good games. It was just off and on. He had like 20 points here, then like six points, there, then like 24 points here, then like seven points, there then like 28 points. Like it's cool that you show up in a closeout game sometimes. But like the consistency we do need and that's what makes me have a cause for Paul to run it back.

Speaker 1:

Trading you back to back years too would suck and it does seem unfair. But for Anthony Edwards and the Wolves, y'all got to strike while the iron's hot Teams are getting better. Y'all got to improve your depth, you got to improve your team. So I thought they had enough Thought they could have gotten to at least the finals. But against OKC they did show everyone has some growing to do.

Speaker 1:

Also, gobert, you have a three-year timeline. Is that going to be good enough, because you've got a contract extension? Will you prove to be worth your contract? Possibly I do think you still have some value. But again, I would love to see Gobert get a little bit more offensively driven. Or, if you're not going to do that, you've got to do better on defense. You've got to increase the blocking to what you used to do, because that's going to bring that value up to where no one's really going to be talking about you. Everybody needs a seven footer. So you're probably going to have a gig, but because of the contract and the depoys, we're going to expect a little bit more and, especially paired with Anthony Edwards, you're going to have more eyes on you consistently.

Speaker 1:

Now with with Anthony Edwards as he keeps growing on and off the court, we got to focus on Like when they lost. He says he's good, he's not hurt. He's more so hurt for himself or for Mike Conley than himself. He said he came up short for Mike Conley, meaning Now that I can appreciate that does show maturity, that shows himself. He said he came up short for Mike Conley, meaning Now that I can appreciate that does show maturity, that shows accountability. He said he came up short for Mike.

Speaker 1:

I don't need him crying and saying, oh, we lost. I don't need to hear that. What I need to hear is I'm not hurt. I'm okay with him saying he's not hurt. I think he is hurt, he's annoyed, he's pissed Hurt implies woe is me. I can't change it. You can change it. You got to improve, but also you got to get your team on that same wavelength too. So that's what I want to see. So the fact that he says he's hurt because he lost it for Mike Conley Mike Conley been in the league for quite some time.

Speaker 1:

You want to win the championship for your vet. I respect that. I love that. Actually, it also speaks volumes for Mike Conley. But I want to see how the team comes back. Are y'all more focused? Does Anthony Eller seem to be more focused? Cancel out the noise. Focus on your game. If people don't think you're a star, that's okay. You got to prove them wrong on the court, but also off the court as well too. The face of the league stuff. I think that's still in play. He's got to keep producing, but also the Wolves got to keep winning. Let's not forget, ladies and gentlemen, he's gotten to the Western Conference Finals two times in a row, so clearly he's doing something right.

Speaker 1:

Just a couple tweaks Like could it be personnel player-wise, could it be coaches? I think one thing could be beautiful to see happen is if we compare Anthony Edwards with Scottie Barnes. If we do that I know that people are talking about. Oh, anthony Edwards is the next MJ. I can see Scottie Barnes being the next Scottie Pippen. And again, scottie Barnes to me has top 10 NBA player potential. I love Scottie Barnes. He can play, he can guard one through fours and give you 20 plus points. That's what he needs. You see how Shea Gilders Alexander has Jalen Williams. Scottie Barnes will be an upgrade of Jalen Williams for Anthony Edwards, I promise you. And then coaching changes. Chris Finch is cool, but maybe we can use someone like a Sam Cassell.

Speaker 1:

Think about his basketball pedigree, his history right. You also got. He's Boston's top assistant head coach, the same Boston who, if they didn't get injured, they might have battled back past the Knicks, gotten past the Pacers and then maybe won it back as back-to-back champions. That is a possibility. So the top head coach of that team defending champions until a team wins this year, I'd take them. Or I could you not sold on San Francisco? That's fine. How about Royal Ivy? Again, he's played basketball before college, professional, in the NBA, rockets assistant head coach or Rockets assistant coach. And then, let's not forget too, he took that South Sudan team pretty decently in the Olympics. They were actually probably the toughest competitors for the US Olympic team. Those are two coaches that the Wolves could consider, and I think they would pair well with Anthony Edwards and the future of the Wolves.

Speaker 1:

Remember their defense, or their identity. Is Anthony Edwards in defense right now? At minimum, they could at least match that. You just got to find some additional shooters, maybe one more playmaker, but again, though, wolves lost. A couple changes may need to be made. It is what it is Tough Now.

Speaker 1:

I got to bring this up, though, because we talked about the teams that lost, so I want to talk about my future expectations, and we got to bring this up, ladies and gentlemen, because you see here the Pacers versus the Thunder, and you see that they both have encompassed Paul George. It's really sad. It's really sad. June 5th, though, is when Game 1 is supposed to take off, so let's see how that shakes out.

Speaker 1:

I do lean OKC in this series. All right, I do lean OKC. Weirdly, biggest impact, siakam. He's the most experienced player. I do think he'll have the most impact X factor, if you will.

Speaker 1:

Caruso, honorable mention Again. These players I expect to have. How do I say? They're going to be chilled during the finals. I expect that, because they've been there before. The other players might be a little sporadic, might have a little erratic moments throughout the finals. Those two should probably be the most consistent ones. And which one is more consistent? Either Caruso's defense plus offense ability or Siakam's offense, and both are their leadership because both of them are respected quite highly on their squad. So that's the biggest impact that I'm seeing for the Thunder and the Pacers, and the Pacers can win versus OKC. Even though I said I lean OKC, the Pacers definitely can win.

Speaker 1:

Now OKC's defense. They've been suffocating the Pacers' offense. I'm curious if it could be suffocated because they try to utilize multiple people and they seem to have been successful. Now we could say the Eastern teams and conference is weaker than the Western teams. That might be factual, but again they have proven to be all right. Yeah, they played against some injury riddled teams last year and this year Knicks weren't injured though they were relatively healthy and they look pretty decent, and the Knicks are actually a decent defensive squad. So again, I think the Pacers might have enough.

Speaker 1:

Coaching could help determine the winner too. Coaching could help determine the winner too. Mark Dagnon and, oh my God, rick Carlisle I couldn't remember, boy, my bad. Who gonna come out? That's what I'm curious about. But you know what, hey guys, I'm thinking about this.

Speaker 1:

This might need to be an episode for another discussion. Yeah, we'll talk, you know what. We'll talk about this for another discussion, for another day, because the finals is coming up very soon. So I'm definitely curious who you all are pulling for. Is it going to be the Pacers or is it going to be the Knicks? Will it be Hallie or will it be Shane? That's what I'm curious to see, who y'all all land in with. But I mean, ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the end of the episode. So, again, we've heard the gripes, we've heard the teams that have lost. We've heard my expectations for the NBA finals A little preliminary expectations. We'll go more in depth tomorrow, but definitely want to hear y'all thoughts on what I talked about in regards to the Knicks losing, the Wolves losing, the changes that I recommended and then my expectations for the finals. But, most importantly, hope you all make sure to please like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. Hope you all are having a good one, take care.