The NBA season has reached its penultimate stage: the conference finals. The four remaining teams have each navigated their unique paths through the preceding playoff rounds.
In the Western Conference, the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder earned their spot in the finals after a tough seven-game battle against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. This marks the Thunder`s first appearance in the conference finals since the 2015-16 season.
Their opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, advanced to the West finals more decisively, defeating the Golden State Warriors in just five games. This is the second consecutive season the Timberwolves have reached this stage, having been eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the conference finals last year.
Switching to the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks secured their place in the finals – their first in 25 years – by overcoming the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, in a six-game series. They are set to clash with the Indiana Pacers, who caused an upset by eliminating the East`s top seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in only five games. The Pacers are also making their second straight conference finals appearance, following a sweep by the Celtics in the previous year.
With the playoff field narrowed down to four contenders, our panel of NBA experts offers their predictions for the outcomes of the conference finals series.
Eastern Conference Finals
Indiana Pacers (4) vs. New York Knicks (3)
- Jerry Bembry: Knicks in 6
- Jamal Collier: Knicks in 7
- Chris Herring: Knicks in 7
- Zach Kram: Pacers in 6
- Bobby Marks: Pacers in 6
- Dave McMenamin: Knicks in 7
- Kevin Pelton: Pacers in 6
- Omar Raja: Knicks in 6
- Ramona Shelburne: Knicks in 7
- Andre Snellings: Pacers in 7
- Marc Spears: Knicks in 7
- Jeremy Woo: Pacers in 7
- Michael C. Wright: Knicks in 7
- Ohm Youngmisuk: Knicks in 7
Final tally:
New York 9, Indiana 5
Western Conference Finals
Minnesota Timberwolves (6) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
- Jerry Bembry: Thunder in 6
- Jamal Collier: Timberwolves in 7
- Chris Herring: Thunder in 6
- Zach Kram: Thunder in 6
- Bobby Marks: Thunder in 6
- Dave McMenamin: Timberwolves in 6
- Kevin Pelton: Thunder in 7
- Omar Raja: Timberwolves in 6
- Ramona Shelburne: Thunder in 7
- Andre Snellings: Timberwolves in 7
- Marc Spears: Timberwolves in 7
- Jeremy Woo: Thunder in 7
- Michael C. Wright: Thunder in 6
- Ohm Youngmisuk: Thunder in 7
Final tally:
Oklahoma City 9, Minnesota 5
