Who will make it to the NBA Finals?
Welcome to the Conference Finals and nearing the last leg of the playoffs and the intensity will build up as matchups and styles class as teams vie for the NBA Finals.
Eastern Conference Matchup
The No. 3 seed Knicks face the No. 4 seed Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks beat the Celtics in six games, and for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, New York advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. There is also a history between the Knicks and Pacers dating back to the 1993 playoffs.
The Pacers lead in wins for playoff games and series wins, winning five of the eight series between the two. Last time the Knicks beat the Pacers in the playoffs was in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals.
In regards to the current day, the Knicks can give the Pacers a hard time in some aspects. Defensively, the Knicks are stronger with a 110.6 defensive rating. Offensively, they are fourth of the remaining teams in the playoffs and ninth overall with a 110.7 rating. The game runs through Jalen Brunson and with his Nova Knicks teammates and Karl-Anthony Towns.
One story for Lakers fans is who will make more of a difference for their respective teams in Josh Hart for the Knicks or Thomas Bryant for the Pacers.
Finally, down low will be another storyline of offense and defense and showing which center in the east is the best center from the 2015 draft class between Towns and Myles Turner.
The Pacers are moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row and with their mix of offense and defense, they are ready to face most anyone in the East.
In terms of offensive and defensive rating, the Pacers are first of the remaining teams for offensive rating with at 117. Of the four remaining teams, they are fourth in defensive rating at 111.9. So, they are more offensively focused with Tyrese Haliburton leading the charge and facilitating. Turner is inside for the defense and spreading the floor with lots of good role players around them.
Western Conference Matchup
The No. 1 seed will face the No. 6 seed Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.
The Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference Finals again after making it last season. Prior to last season, the last time they made the WCF was in 2004 against the Lakers.
In the playoffs, the Timberwolves are third of the remaining teams with a 114.6 offensive rating and the second-best team remaining in defensive rating at 106.8. This will be a hard-nosed series on the defensive end.
When you think of defense, you also think of rebounding. The Timberwolves have the edge with a 51.9% rebound percentage and are the best rebounding team left in the playoffs. The Thunder are fourth of the remaining teams with 47.8% rebounding percentage and 12th of the 16 teams that made the postseason.
In this matchup, the Wolves have faced the Thunder/Sonics in five playoff games in the 1998 WCF. The Sonics won that series 3-2. This is the first time the Thunder and Timberwolves have faced each other in the playoffs in a 7 game series.
The Thunder beat the Nuggets to move on to face the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, the Thunder are back in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the last season of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in 2016.
Now the Thunder are all new with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holgren leading the way and having the continuity that makes the difference for this young Thunder team. Defensively is where they shine with the best defensive rating in the playoffs at 101.6 along with 10.6 steals per game.
Both teams are great in holding teams to fewer points in the paint with the Timberwolves second overall and the Thunder fifth overall.
The big matchups are between Anthony Edwards and SGA and Rudy Gobert and Chet. The second stars in Julius Randle and Jalen Williams will likely decide the series. The Thunder have so many defensive players that may tip the balance in their favor with Lu Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace.
For Lakers fans we have Alex Caruso and Julius Randle and how much of a difference both players will make for their teams.
Western Conference Finals
Thunder leads 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals.
Game 1 starts on May 20th 2025 at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN and ESPN2. Thunder win 114-88
Game 2 begins on May 22nd 2025 at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN/ ESPN News
Game 3 initiates on May 24th 2025 at 8:30 PM ET on ABC and ESPN News
Game 4 kicks off on May 26th 2025 at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN and ESPN2
Eastern Conference Finals
Game 1 starts on May 21st 2025 at 8PM ET on TNT and MAX/HBO MAX.
Game 2 occurs on May 23rd, 2025 at 8PM ET on TNT, MAX/ HBO MAX
Game 3 begins on May 25th, 2025 at 8:00 PM MT on TNT, MAX/HBO MAX
Game 4 is on May 27th, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET on TNT/ MAX/HBO MAX
My Conference Finals Predictions
Western Bracket
Timberwolves in 7
Eastern Bracket
Knicks in 7
When I am not posting ridiculous trades on here you can find me talking about Nintendo, LGBT content, music, and the Lakers on my Twitter. You can follow Alexis on Twitter at @BeautifulShy_RS and on BluSky at @msshyskye.bsky.social.