The NBA season has reached the conference finals, and each of the remaining four teams has had a unique road through the playoffs.
The No. 1 seed advanced to the Western Conference finals after a hard-fought seven games against and the . It is the Thunder’s first trip to the conference finals since the 2015-16 campaign.
Meanwhile, the rolled into the West finals after taking care of the in five games. It’s the second straight season the Wolves have made the conference finals, where they fell to the last season.
On the other side of the bracket, the closed out the defending champion in six games to advance to their first Eastern Conference finals in 25 years. They will meet the , who bounced the , the East’s top seed, in just five games. The Pacers also have reached this round two years running; they were swept by the Celtics last year.
With the playoff bracket down to four teams, our NBA experts make their conference finals picks.
| Conference finals preview |
(4)
vs. (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
J.B. Bickerstaff credits Minnesota’s balance as the key reason the team can challenge OKC in the Western Conference finals.
(6)
vs. (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
