Minesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA DFS Game 4 Start Em’ Sit Em’| May 26th, 2025

The Minnesota Timberwolves almost looked like they were going to roll over when they came back to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3. While the Timberwolves played some excellent basketball, they also benefited from some underwhelming performances from the Thunder (the highest-scoring OKC player in Game 3 had 14 points).

The chances of Oklahoma City having another poor game offensively are slim to none, so the key for DFS players is to figure out who on the Thunder should bounce back as well as who might have another dud of a game.

Lock of the Game

Anthony Edwards is good at basketball for anyone who’s been under a rock for the past month. He’s been proving to be very dynamic, shooting excellently from range as well as driving to the basket with ease. Edwards has already had five games where he scored 30 points or more, and it does not look like OKC can defend him (in their defense, who can?).

Especially considering Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off of a bit of a dud, Edwards is proving that he is the one who is more guaranteed to get his shot off, regardless of the game situation.

Start ‘Em

Great players don’t turn in bad nights twice in a row, especially during the playoffs. That makes SGA poised for a bounce-back after only hitting 14 points, which surprisingly led the Thunder in Game 3. In general, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can’t be faulted for trying to get his teammates more involved.

He was looking for passes most of the time when he was coming down the court in Game 3. As for Game 4, he might try to create his own shot more. That should lead to a great night for Gilgeous-Alexander regardless of whether his team wins or not.

Of the supporting pieces around Edwards in Minnesota, Randle has been the most reliable offensively. There’s a reason why he played 30 minutes in Game 3 along with Edwards. Randle doesn’t seem afraid in this series; whether he’s being guarded by Holmgren or Hardenstein, Randle still finds a way to either get a good layup or jump shot.

Randle has scored 24 or more points in four of the last five games. As long as he doesn’t get shut out like in Game 2 (which is unlikely), Randle should be the option to take at forward.

Sit ‘Em

Holmgren is easily one of the best players on this OKC squad. Unfortunately, Minnesota isn’t a great matchup for him. First of all, he’s shooting a little inconsistently. In Game 3, Holmgren was only 1-4 from three-point range. On a normal night, that’s fine because Holmgren can still score up close.

He can’t impose his will in the paint during this series, though, because Rudy Gobert is there to stop him. That’s why Holmgren is playing a little bit more around the perimeter, but as this series goes on, Gobert (and his teammates) might get better and better at defending Holmgren.

Conley is a great team leader, but he rarely scores over 20 nowadays. In Game 3, Conley kicked off the game shooting two big three-pointers, but that ended up being the only points he would have.

The bottom line his Conley is on a squad with plenty of shooters (Edwards, McDaniels, Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, etc.). He is going to do his best to pass the ball to those shooters before Conley tries shooting on his own.

Fade of the Game

Alex Caruso hasn’t been getting the minutes that he may have grown accustomed to. In Game 3, Caruso only played 10 minutes. In that time, he could only hit one of his three-pointers. One could argue that’s not enough time to get into a shooting rhythm, but that doesn’t change the fact that Caruso isn’t on the court enough to be a DFS option.

If he were to play closer to 20 minutes, he could be worth a DFS start since Caruso can shoot and has some impressive handles. As of now, though, it looks like OKC wants everyone on their bench to play a little rather than favoring one bench player.