NBA Conference Finals Predictions
- Rim Report
- May 21, 2024
- 3 min read
The NBA Semifinals had exciting results. Almost every team in the Eastern Conference was suffering some injury. The Celtics, Bucks, Knicks, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Heat all dealt with their respective injuries. The Eastern Conference Finals came down to the least injured teams. Although the Celtics are dealing with an injury to Kristaps Porzingis, their lineup makes up for that hole. For the Western Conference, this was an unexpected matchup. Although the Mavericks are a better team than the Thunder, most NBA fans expected the 2023 champion Nuggets to go deeper in the Playoffs. The Timberwolves played an impressive series. Their defense is incredible. As expected, the Mavericks rebounded much better than Oklahoma City. The Conference Finals should be exciting to predict.
#1 Boston Celtics vs #6 Indiana Pacers | Celtics in 4 Tyrese Haliburton won't be smiling so much in this series. The Pacers know on the inside that the healthy Knicks and Bucks would've smoked them. Even if the Knicks had OG Anunoby for the entire series, the result would've been different. The Pacers had a straightforward path to get to this position. The Celtics defense is an excellent counter to the Pacers offense. The Celtics are also expected to get Kristaps Porzingis back later in the series. This matchup explains itself. The Pacers can maybe take one game, but other than that, it isn't easy to picture any more than that. The Pacers were too arrogant. They were down 2-0 until OG Anunoby suffered a hamstring injury. Even if the Bucks had their guys, the result would be different. Pacers fans may be happy to be in this position, but assuming we will have a healthier Eastern Conference, it isn't easy to picture this happening again. Boston is capable of sweeping Indiana. Injuries Indiana has played against include Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Giannis Antetokounmp, and Damian Lillard. It's unfortunate to see so many injuries in an Eastern Conference that could've been so interesting. With all this being said, the Celtics will easily win this series.
The Mavericks are coming into this series after an impressive performance against the number-one-seeded Thunder. But this won’t be an easy series; the Wolves are a great team and are ready for anything. Led by Anthony Edwards, the Wolves have the number-one defense in the NBA and can shut down any team on any night. The Wolves are favored in this series, and rightfully so. The Wolves ' confidence is through the roof after sweeping the Suns and beating the Nuggets in seven games. Although The Wolves match up well against all of the Mavs’ starters and will probably win this series, this won’t stop the Mavs from putting up a fight. This year has been excellent for the Mavs, with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading the way. Their fight and grit have gotten them this far in the postseason, and they play with such confidence that it seems they aren’t satisfied. Sadly, this will be the end of the road for the Mavs because they just aren’t built for a championship. The Wolves will outclass them in almost every aspect of the game, especially the defensive side of the ball, and will send the Mavericks home in six games to move on to the NBA Finals.