By DaVince “Dino” Wright
The Season Till Now
This has been one of the craziest NBA seasons to date. Trades, firings and the future of the league has been a bit shaky. The Luka trade from the Mavericks to the Lakers will be one of the strangest trades in league history. Then the Denver Nuggets fired Mike Malone and GM Calvin Booth near the end of the season right before the playoffs. The NBA play-in, in season tournament and All-Star break will be something for the league to look at when the season is complete. Here’s where the rubber meets the road: the league has a global stamp in the sports world but struggle to keep fans interested. Television numbers and merchandise is down across the board yet ticket prices keep going up. I’m not sure what NBA commissioner Adam Silver is up to, but he will figure it out. This is the part of the season where all of the critics, gym rats and bet apps come into play. We are down to 4 teams playing to take a shot to get into the finals and to ultimately hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy this season. The West will have the Minnesota Timberwolves taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder while the Eastern Conference will showcase the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. Both teams will play in a best-of-seven series with the winners competing for the 2025 NBA championship.
Eastern Conference Finals
The Indiana Pacers will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers beat the best team in the East this season. They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 1 and no one saw this coming. Keep in mind that the Cavaliers had the best record in the conference but failed to get to the finals. The Pacers won 3 games after being down 16+ points in that series 3 times. The New York Knicks made it to the finals by beating last season NBA champions Boston Celtics 4 games to 2. The New York Knicks have a collection of gritty defenders that love rebounding and scrapping on both ends of the floor. This will be a hard-fought series from start to finish.
Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks
5/21 – Wednesday – 7:00PM – TV: TNT/Max
Game 1 – This will be one of the most watched games in this year’s playoffs. Both teams weren’t on the radar for anyone to be here. The Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will match up against Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. ESPN has the Knicks with a 52.3% chance of winning at home. I’m taking the Knicks to win game 1 by 12 at home.
Finals Score: Pacers 104 – Knicks 116
Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks
5/23 – Friday – 7:00PM – TV: TNT/Max
Game 2 – This will be my swing game of the series. The team that loses game 1 will be forced to change their game plan by making adjustments on the board and key match ups. The key for the Knicks will be scoring in the open floor while the Pacers will need to get to the free throw line and stop the clock on the road. Key matchup: Pacers Pascal Siakam versus Knicks OG Anunoby. ESPN has the Knicks with a 51.6% chance of winning at home. I’m taking the Knicks by 6!
Final Score: Pacers 114 – Knicks 120
Western Conference Finals
What a difference a year makes. Both teams are chomping at the bit to get to the NBA finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder will be facing the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is where a new leader will emerge to lead their organizations to a new level. Minnesota has a dynamic leader in Anthony Edwards and Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will take center stage in this series. The face of the NBA will be on display. The Timberwolves beat the Warriors 4 games to 1 to get into the series. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors 4 games 2 to make it into the conference finals. This series can easily go 7 games, but I don’t see that happening.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder
5/20 – Tuesday – 7:30PM – TV: ESPN
Game 1 – The Thunder is tough to beat at home. This game will have two of the best players in the league going at each other from start to finish. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards will match up against Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (possibly the league’s MVP this season). This game will come down to the play of both superstars. ESPN has the Thunder with a 69.7% chance of winning at home. I’m taking the Thunder by 10.
Final Score: Timberwolves 112 – Thunder 122
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder
5/22 – Thursday – 7:30PM – TV: ESPN
Game 2 – The loser of this game will need to make adjustments. Here’s the thing, the Thunder will win the first game and if Anthony Edwards struggle in the first game the Timberwolves will be in trouble and will be in danger falling 2-games behind heading home for game 3. Player matchup: Minnesota’s Rudy Goebert versus Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein. ESPN has the Thunder with a 69.1% chance of winning at home. I’m taking the Thunder by 5.
Final Score: Timberwolves 100 – Thunder 105
