Analyze all possible finals duels and highlights! Which group is the most worth looking forward to?

No matter which two teams stand out from the NBA Finals, it will produce a finals showdown that we have never seen before. But they are not born equal.

As the league finals heat up between Saturday’s New York Knicks’ second game against the Indiana Pacers and Sunday’s third game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, let’s take a closer look at the final matchups that the remaining four teams in the league may create to see which teams are most attractive from a variety of perspectives. These factors include the connection between the two teams, the showdown of the players and the style of the game.

This is inevitably a subjective process, but from a narrative perspective, the combination of four star guards (Jaren Brunson, Anthony Edwards, new MVP Shay Gilgios-Alexander and Tyres Halliburton) who lead the remaining teams is more weighty.

Nevertheless, the first choice is obvious, as the two teams (the Timberwolves and the Knicks) reshaped their starting five-man lineup through a bold trade on the eve of training camp, the unique potential of the game. Let's break down the Wolves and Knicks storyline and all four possible series.

1. New York Knicks vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Main storyline: Deciding who is the trade winner on the court

Additional storyline: Tom Thibodeau's Revenge Series, Star Guard vs. Wings Sedge

Home Advantage: Knicks Regular Season Series: Draw (1-1)

Never had an NBA Finals like a potential showdown between Minnesota and New York. Dan Feldman noted this week in the NBA podcast Daily Dunk News that since 1977, no team (the Denver Nuggets and the Seattle Supersonics, both Western Conference teams) have changed starters and then both reached the league finals, let alone the Finals.

Even the deal—Paul Silas and Marvin Webster’s exchange for Bob Wilkerson from Seattle—is a trivial comparison to the size of the Knicks and the Timberwolves’ All-Star player exchange.

As for player deals between finals teams, it should be clear that if these two teams enter the finals, they will win the deal regardless of the result. The deal is as expected by both sides: Carl Anthony Towns super-enhanced New York offense, Julius Randle is the ideal candidate for Minnesota, and Dont Divinsonzo offers the necessary peripheral depth despite his cold playoffs.

Knicks Wolves' Finals will also put Thibodeau against his former team. Minnesota hired Thibodeau as a dual role of coaching and president of basketball operations in hopes of reaching this point, but his tenure led to only one first-round exit before Jimmy Butler's transfer request was destroyed. .

2. Indiana Pacers vs. Timberwolves Main storyline: The showdown of top American defenders

Additional plot: The return of Impossible finalist Mike Conley

Home dominance Pacers Regular season: Pacers (2-0)

Edwards and Halliburton will be very interesting. Among the NBA All-Stars last season (Canadian player Gilgios Alexander and Slovenian player Luka Doncic are among them), they are the only two players who are currently under 28 years old. Halliburton missed the All-Star Game in the first half of last season, but he played an elite-level performance in the playoffs. Apart from their skills, Edwards and Halliburton are both players who are good at showing themselves and know how to seize the opportunity. In an increasingly international league, the finals showdown will make the two of them one of the best young players in the United States.

Indiana and Minnesota will be the NBA championship series that "no one believes us" ever. Never had a Final without a top three seed team from any league—one of all three other potential opponents—and the Pacers’ .610 win rate will be the lowest among teams with a home advantage in the Finals since 1978.

Finally, the Timberwolves, who faced the Indiana Pacers in the finals, will provide 37-year-old Conley with a trip home. Conley attended Lawrence North High School, 20 miles northeast of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Conley's 105 games in the playoffs (still in progress) are the most players who have never made it to the Finals. Conley lost in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals against the Memphis Grizzlies and last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, and the final breakthrough will be a great story.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder vs Pacers

Main plot: International point guard battle

Additional storyline: SGA's Canadian Guard Gloves, the remaining top offense against top defense.

Home Advantage: Thunder Regular Season Series: Thunder (2-0)

If Gilgos Alexander's match against Halliburton makes you feel familiar, you may have seen the third place match in the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup. Gilgos Alexander scored 31 points and 12 assists, and Canada reversed and beat the United States, with Halliburton (6 points, 7 assists) as the point guard. Given his age, Halliburton is likely to be a long-time starter for Team USA in this position—which means more conflict with Gilgos Alexander on the world stage.

Although Gilgio Alexander is undoubtedly a better player, Halliburton controls the remaining top offense in the playoffs. So far, Indiana averaged 118.5 points per 100 offenses, more than three points higher than Oklahoma City's 100 offenses.. This will test the Thunder's defense, which has more than 7 points less than the others per 100 attacks.

Specifically, there are several duels that unstoppable forces meet immovable objects. The Pacers ranked third in the league in both the regular season and playoff substitution rates, and the team ranked first in forcing substitutions is unlikely to continue. In addition, Indiana hit 41% of three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs. Oklahoma City's opponents shot just 31% from the field in the playoffs and 34% in the regular season, which could make the Thunder a rare defense that can continue to affect opponents' accuracy.

Gilgios Alexander will have his national teammate Lugent Dort playing side by side in the backcourt, but he will face a Canadian defender in the third round in a row. Pacers winger Andrew Nembahard may occasionally make an appearance for Gilgios Alexander the Great after SGA beat Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets in the semi-finals and defeated cousin Nickel Alexander Walker's Timberwolves in the finals. Nebhard did not play for Canada in the recent World Cup, but averaged 8.3 points per game in three games that came off the bench at the Olympics.

4. Thunder vs Knicks

Main storyline: Brunson's defense against Oklahoma

Additional storyline: Isaiah Hartenstein's return

Home advantage: Thunder Regular season series: Thunder (2 wins 0)

In the NBA, there seems to be no team that is more suitable for defense than the Thunder, and they can take turns to defend against Brunson. When both teams start, Dortmund will likely receive a call, followed by pressure from Carson Wallace, and Alex Caruso's chaotic goal is another option.

Brunson averaged 24.5 points in two matches with Oklahoma City this season, a week apart in January. But in these games, his true shooting percentage is .534, the third worst of opponents he has faced many times this season.

We may see Caruso in Towns after successfully defending Nikola Jokic in Game 7 of the Thunder semi-finals.

For Hartenstein, it's hard to call it the Revenge Series, who has improved his value in his two years in New York that the Knicks couldn't realistically renew him this summer. Still, his return reminds us how much new York has changed compared to last season. At the time, Hartenstein was an indispensable contributor to the playoffs, and he averaged nearly 30 minutes per game in the Knicks' two playoff series.