The team at thePeachBasket is on record with their picks for the Conference Finals. Here are their 2024 NBA Playoffs – Conference Finals Predictions! Do you agree?
Tyrone Smith – 10 on the Clock: With Tyrone Smith
- Minnesota in six
- Celtics in six
Brandon Sparks – Run it Back! NBA Week in Review – LA Lakers
- For the Western Conference, as great as Dallas has been playing, the Timberwolves are just a terrible matchup for them. The defense of Rudy Gobert will ultimately shut down the lob passes that Derek Lively and Daniel Gafford have been thriving on. Alongside that, Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards defending the two stars in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is going to make scoring extremely tough, especially with Luka not being 100%. Dallas has been relying heavily on their inside scoring and rebounding, but with such tall bodies on the Timberwolves, I don’t see them getting more than 2 games. Also, the Timberwolves are riding an insane high by defeating the defending champions, so their confidence is through the roof. Timberwolves in 6 and that is being generous.
- For the Eastern Conference, I have never seen a more easy path for two Conference Finals contenders. The Celtics faced a Miami Heat with no Jimmy Butler, then a Cavaliers team without Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell at the end. For Indiana, they faced the Bucks without Giannis and Damian Lillard for half of the series. Then, the Knicks were barely able to put 5 quality players on the court by Game 7 and had OG hobble his way onto the court, just to be pulled five minutes into the game. And that series still went to 7. Considering the poor defense of the Indiana Pacers, even with some stellar offense, they don’t stand a chance against a Boston team that finished top 3 in both offense and defensive rating. Even without Porzingis the entire series, Boston wins in 5 games.
Roger Starz – LocalSportsMatter.substack.com
- Western Conference: Dallas in 7, because Luka or Kyrie could be the best player on the court at any given time and I think the bigs for Dallas can match up better with the size for Minnesota. I feel that the youth and inexperience of Minnesota might show up in this series especially with the Finals on the line.
- Eastern Conference: Boston in 6, because Celtics have the best team in the NBA, but they sometimes get bored with their opponent and lack focus or the killer instinct to kill off their opponent. The Celtics have the best player in the series in Tatum and I think he will win the ECF MVP, also I don’t think the Pacers will shoot 68% from the field with Boston’s defense.
Steve Purciello – 13 Rules: Random NBA Thoughts
- Boston in 6, better team well rested, better defense and defense wins
- Minnesota in 6, great defense and see above
Isaac Edelman – FLTeams.com
- The Western Conference Finals is ought to be the best playoff series NBA fans will get to see this year. Talk about two of the faces of the NBA going head to head… Anthony Edwards vs. Luka Doncic. And then you got Kyrie Irving and Karl Anthony Towns… this is going to be a fun series with a lot of trash talk. It seems like nobody can stop Edwards, though, which is why I have the Timberwolves winning. Edwards is just like Jimmy Butler; he is a completely different player (in a good way) when the playoffs come around. In 11 playoff games this year, Edwards is averaging 28.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 5.9 APG. Luka Doncic is going to have some magnificent performances, without a doubt. But if the Mavericks are going to want to force seven games or even win the series, Kyrie Irving will have to step up. He is capable of hitting three after three and tough layups, but we haven’t seen it much in this year’s playoffs.
- The Celtics have had their time to shine year after year. But ever since Paul George left Indiana, the Pacers have had no opportunity to shine. Enter Tyrese Haliburton. This is the Pacers’ year. And Jayson Tatum won’t be able to get in the way. Outside of Haliburton, Indiana isn’t flashy. But they know how to win basketball games – and that’s all that matters, especially in the NBA Playoffs. Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, and T. J. McConnell don’t take social media by storm, but they play team basketball, and contribute to Indiana’s chemistry. Don’t be surprised if the Pacers upset the Celtics. Expect TD Garden to be silent for parts of the series as the Boston faithful will be in shock.
Jose Salviati – Run it Back! NBA Week in Review
- Defense wins championships. Credit the Mavericks for understanding that principle and getting as far as they have so far after playing really good defense. But the Timberwolves are on another level defensively. The Mavericks just don’t have the height or depth at the center position to compete. The Timberwolves have also shown they can win on the road; even if they are down 20 against the defending champions. Wolves earn their first Finals appearance winning the WCF in six games.
- While the Timerberwolves were the best defensive NBA team statistically this season the Boston Celtics were #2. The Indiana Pacers are the Cinderella team of this seasons NBA Final Four, but their feel good story ends here. The Celtics will make their 23rd Finals appearance winning the ECF in five games.
Final Tally
- Timberwolves 4, Mavericks 1
- Celtics 4, Pacers 1
