2025 NBA playoffs: Western Conference Round 1 takeaways

The 2024-25 NBA playoffs are in full swing, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals.

On Wednesday, the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off an upset by eliminating the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers in a Game 5 win.

Thursday, the No. 5 LA Clippers forced a Game 7 with the No. 4 Denver Nuggets in front of their home crowd, behind 28 points from James Harden. They’ll face off Saturday to see which team advances to play the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Friday, the No. 2 Houston Rockets also forced a Game 7 against the No. 7 Golden State Warriors. The winner of the Rockets-Warriors series will take on the Timberwolves.

As the West playoffs continue, here’s what matters most and what to watch for in all four series.

Jump to a series:
Thunder-Grizzlies | Rockets-Warriors
Lakers-Timberwolves | Nuggets-Clippers

More coverage:
East first-round takeaways
Schedules and results | Offseason guides

Game 6: Rockets 115, Warriors 107

What we learned:

Veteran Houston guard Fred VanVleet splashed a 26-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key with 6:49 remaining to put the Rockets up by 12 points, while effectively snuffing out any real hope for a Golden State comeback in Game 6. Houston forced Game 7 on Sunday at Toyota Center with a 115-107 victory over the Warriors. All series long, Golden State devoted significant defensive resources to shut down shooting guard Jalen Green, who finished with 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting, while choosing to play the percentages with VanVleet. Bad move for the Warriors, as the 31-year-old is now 18-of-27 from 3-point range over his last three contests. Leading 86-84 to start the third quarter, VanVleet sparked a 6-0 Houston run by completing a 4-point play just six seconds into the frame. VanVleet has now produced three consecutive games with 25 points or more for the first time in his postseason career, while Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson contributed 20 and 14 points, respectively. Now the teams head into Sunday’s Game 7, where Golden State owns the edge in experience. Warriors players have participated in a combined 19 Game 7s, compared to 10 such outings for Houston’s VanVleet, Jeff Green, Steven Adams and Aaron Holiday.

— Michael C. Wright

Game 7: Warriors at Rockets (Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

What to watch:

Golden State has shockingly blown its 3-1 cushion and now has to win a Game 7 in what will be a hostile Toyota Center atmosphere. The Warriors’ offense looked stuck in mud against Houston’s defense. They opened the fourth quarter shooting 1-for-15 and were outscored at one point 20-5. They have been outplayed by Houston in two straight games and have been unable to get Stephen Curry free of the Rockets’ defense when it matters. Now they have to find a way to win in a place where they trailed by as much as 31 with the starters on the floor in the third quarter of Game 5 on Wednesday. If the Warriors’ championship pedigree is going to make a difference, now is the time. Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III have played in these type of do-or-die games before. Curry and Green have played in five Game 7s, while Butler has been in four of them. But how much does the Warriors’ Big Three have left in the tank? Curry and Butler logged 42 minutes and Green went 37 minutes in Game 6 and will have one day off before Game 7. Curry and Butler need offensive help, but where will it come from?

— Ohm Youngmisuk

Game 6: Clippers 111, Nuggets 105

What we learned:

Everything is different for the Clippers when James Harden has space to run or — in his self-proclaimed case — be “the system.” Harden bore the brunt of the criticism after his tepid 11 points on nine shots in Tuesday’s Game 6 loss. His previous playoff failings made for easy fodder for the national discourse. But before the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue put Harden’s struggles on himself and the game plan he drew up the previous two games, saying he had to do a better job of creating space for Harden to operate. He did just that in Game 6 by making sure Harden had the ball in his hands early, and doubled down in the second half when he swapped Nicolas Batum into the starting lineup for Kris Dunn, whom the Nuggets were often leaving on defense to double-team or blitz Harden’s drives. It changed everything for Harden and LA’s offense, which shot a blistering 51% Thursday night. With Batum on the court in the second half, LA was even better — going 6-for-6 off passes from Batum.

Game 7: Clippers at Nuggets (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

What to watch:

What will the Nuggets do to counter the Clippers’ move of swapping in Batum for Dunn? LA essentially traded offense for defense, and it worked out, with Batum and the rest of the Clippers defensively hindering Jamal Murray. The Nuggets will surely adjust before Game 7 to get Murray going again. He’s too quick for Batum if he has space. The Nuggets also have to be kicking themselves for their 14 turnovers, which led to 23 points for LA. Denver outrebounded, scored more points in the paint and got more bench points than LA but lost the game because of sloppy plays, missed layups, and an inability to capitalize on the Batum-Murray matchup.

— Ramona Shelburne

Game 5: Timberwolves 103, Lakers 96

What we learned:

Lakers coach JJ Redick decided to not start a center, and Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves absolutely feasted on the interior to take the series in five games.

After totaling 14 points and 25 rebounds through the first four games, Gobert destroyed the Lakers with 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting and 24 rebounds in the clincher. He became the fifth player in the past 20 seasons to post a 25-20 line in a closeout game, joining Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O’Neal.

The Lakers played with grit, blanketing Minnesota’s shooters into a 7-for-47 (14.9%) night from 3 (including 0-for-11 for Anthony Edwards) — marking the worst 3-point shooting percentage in a playoff game in NBA history (minimum 40 attempts).

Luka Doncic (back) and LeBron James (left knee) both logged 40 minutes to give the Lakers a chance, but the Wolves’ bench production, outscoring L.A. 22-4, combined with the points-in-the-paint battle (56-40) proved too much.

Minnesota, which has won 21 of its past 26 games dating back to the last quarter of the regular season, will be a formidable challenge to either Golden State or Houston. And the Lakers, as if it wasn’t obvious already, head into the offseason in dire need of a big man Redick will trust in a playoff game.

— Dave McMenamin

Game 4: Thunder 117, Grizzlies 115

What we learned:

Overall top-seeded Oklahoma City made quick work of Memphis, sweeping the Grizzlies, who haven’t won a playoff series since 2022 and didn’t beat a Western Conference team with a winning record after January. Likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his first efficient scoring performance of the series in the finale, finishing with 38 points on 13-of-24 shooting. With Ja Morant out, the Grizzlies couldn’t handle the Thunder’s tenacious defensive pressure, committing 22 turnovers that Oklahoma City converted into 32 points. Now, the Thunder will get some rest and await the winner of the Nuggets-Clippers series.

— Tim MacMahon