The Conference Finals are here so I am going to break down everything you need to know about Pacers-Celtics and Mavericks-Timberwolves.
Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics
Look, last year in the Conference Finals preview I told you that the discrepancy between the Celtics and the Heat was large, that Boston was that much better than Miami was. As a result, take what I am about to say with that in mind. The Boston Celtics are way better than the Indiana Pacers. I am not saying it is impossible for the Pacers to win, if they shoot 67.1% from the field and 54.2% from 3 like they did in game 7, the Pacers are going to make this a series. Their offense is elite with Tyrese Haliburton running point with Pascal Siakam being the number 2 after coming over in a mid-season trade and Aaron Nesmith did an excellent job on Jalen Brunson in the second round, before Brunson broke his hand, and really made life tough on the star Knicks guard. Their bench is also really good. T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin have stepped up in the absence of Bennedict Mathurin and have made Indiana’s bench a huge advantage over the Bucks and Knicks benches in the first 2 rounds. In the four Indiana wins in round 2, they did a terrific job on the glass and made the Knicks not be able to get those easy 2nd chances, which they had done in the first 2 games and in the first round. The Indiana Pacers have a really good team and this run has been a lot of fun.
My Pick: Celtics in 5
While the Pacers have a really good team, the Celtics have the best team in the league. I know Kristaps Porzingis is out and coming back against the pace that Indiana plays at could present problems but in no way should the Celtics lose this series. While these are the 2 greatest regular season offenses of all time, the Pacers don’t get stops, Boston is an elite defense. The Pacers love to get out in transition, Boston is an elite transition defense. Indiana likes to take a bunch of 3’s, Boston is going to take more. The Knicks did not hunt Tyrese Haliburton on defense, Boston will do it relentlessly and do it well. Have the Celtics looked shaky at times during these playoffs? Sure, but this is still a 64 win team who has won 80% of their playoff games. Game 1 is Tuesday at 8:00pm/EST on ESPN.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
These two teams are coming off of 6 and 7 games slugfests and both look like threats to win the whole thing. Let’s start with Dallas. The Mavericks made the Conference Finals in 2022, then remade their whole teams around Luka Doncic and are back in the Conference Finals two years later. The Doncic and Kyrie Irving fit has been a great one, P.J. Washington has been awesome after the trade and stepping up his defense and being a huge upgrade over Grant Williams. (Also, Washington playing for Dallas and not the Thunder decided that series.) They always have a rim running center on the court at all times, with rookie Dereck Lively, who has been a great find with the 12th pick, and Daniel Gafford, who has been great since coming over at the trade deadline in February. Washington and Gafford were seen as risky trades at the time but they have shown that they have been needed for Dallas’ run. Speaking of risky trades, many mocked the Minnesota Timberwolves for trading for Rudy Gobert and pairing him with Karl-Anthony Towns and until the team acquired Mike Conley in a 3-team trade at last year’s trade deadline, those people were right. However, Conley made their offense so much more organized and Gobert transformed them into one of the greatest defenses we have ever seen. Towns is also playing the best ball of his career on both ends. While he was tasked with guarding the 3-time league MVP, Nikola Jokic, Towns also made a ton of plays on the offensive side as well, scoring at all 3 levels and giving Anthony Edwards a legit number 2 option. Speaking of Edwards, he has broken out and become a legit superstar in the league, averaging 28.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists thus far in the playoffs. This series should be a fun one.
My Pick: Timberwolves in 6
I just think the Timberwolves are better. That defense is as good as everyone says they are, Edwards looks like a legit number 1 option on a title team, and Towns is playing the best ball of his career. The window is right now for the Timberwolves. Luka, Kyrie, and the Dallas defense will not make it easy and the Mavericks have the best player in the series. Luka Doncic is a top 5 player in the NBA and is going to cause a lot of sleepless nights for Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. He is bought in on defense and is complaining to referees less and it makes a big difference for the Mavericks. It won’t be easy but I do think that Minnesota will find a way to win the series. Game 1 is Wednesday at 8:30pm/EST on TNT.
I have an Instagram account that picks a uniform matchup of the day, @jacksballblog, so I decided to predict what each team will wear in each potential game of the series.
Pacers-Celtics
G1: IND, statement gold at BOS, association white
G2: IND, statement gold at BOS, statement black
G3: BOS, icon green at IND, statement gold
G4: BOS, icon green at IND, statement gold
G5: IND, statement gold at BOS, statement black
G6: BOS, icon green at IND, statement gold
G7: IND, statement gold at BOS, association white
Mavericks-Timberwolves
G1: DAL, statement navy at MIN, classic white
G2: DAL, icon blue at MIN, classic white
G3: MIN, association white at DAL, statement navy
G4: MIN, association white at DAL, statement navy
G5: DAL, icon blue at MIN, classic white
G6: MIN, association white at DAL, city black
G7: DAL, statement navy at MIN, classic white
The Conference Finals are here and it should be a lot of fun to see who represents each conference in the NBA Finals.
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