The NBA Conference finals start Tuesday night, with the Minnesota Timberwolves visiting the Oklahoma City Thunder. Across the country, the New York Knicks host the Indiana Pacers in the replay of the 2000 East Finals.
Boston Celtics are out, meaning the NBA will get a new champion this season. Of the four remaining teams, we can’t really say that there is a standout favorite, and in our opinion, all of the teams have pretty much the same chances to take the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Check out this link to see outright odds for the NBA champions or the odds for these Conference Finals.
Knicks VS Pacers East Finals
New York had some luck getting here. In the previous round, they survived the Celtics, who lost Jayson Tatum due to a ruptured Achilles. On the other hand, Jaylen Brown played injured throughout the entire series. They stole the opening two matches in Boston, and after that, it opened for them to reach the Conference Finals. Previously, we saw them eliminating the Pistons in six games, having won one due to the officials’ mistake.
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Jalen Brunson is the team’s heart and soul, scoring 28.8 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns scores 19.8 and has 11.3 boards.
On the other hand, the Pacers, too, had some luck. They met the Bucks, who were without Damian Lillard, and beat the rivals in five games. After that, we saw them oust the Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games. The Cavs too had severe injury problems, with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley sitting some games.
Pacers average 117.7 points and are one of the teams with the fastest pace during games. They don’t mind initiating some run-and-gun action and are very, very tough to beat once they get into the rhythm. Also, they are the only team in the playoffs that shoots threes more than 40%.
This one will be interesting. The Knicks were better during the regular season, beating the Pacers in two of three games played. NYK limited the Pacers under the rim to just 30-some boards. Because of that, we have to give the Knicks a slight edge to win this series.
Thunder VS Timberwolves West Finals
The Thunder won against the Nuggets in seven games and looked pretty inconsistent in that series. If Denver had one more player along with Jokic, we don’t have the slightest doubt that OKC would lose. But Shai and the boys are in the conference finals, and they have a chance to be better than before.
OKC scores 117.1 points and allows only 104.2. SGA delivers 29 points per game and looks pretty good on both ends of the floor. The key in this series will be Chet Holmgren (15.7 pts, 9.7 reb), who attacked Jokic well in the previous games. If he manages to impose himself as a constant offensive threat, Thunder has a nice prospect of reaching the finals.
The Timberwolves had an easy task in the previous round since Steph Curry had to sit out the final few games of the series. After beating the Lakers 4-1, they did the same to the Warriors. Anthony Edwards looks excellent, with 26.5 points, 8 boards, and 5.9 assists.
But Julius Randle is the one making the difference. The veteran power forward scores 23.9 points and has 5.9 rebounds and assists. His role is huge because of his offensive versatility, with Randle stretching the defense, muscling his way to the rim, and constantly attacking his guards on various mismatches.
When diving a bit deeper here, we believe the Timberwolves have better prospects to reach the finals with their longer bench and more rested players. Don’t forget that OKC played on Sunday night, and they are already starting a new series.
