The NBA Conference Finals start on May 17. In the East, we have the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. In the West, it’s the Dallas Mavericks against the Golden State Warriors. I will be breaking down these matchups, as well as predicting both series.
ECF: Celtics-Heat
The Celtics got here by defeating the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games in the conference semifinals. The Heat, the East’s #1 seed, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in 6 in the conference semis. It’s a #2 vs. #1 matchup here. Since 2005, no other teams have made the Eastern Finals more than the Heat and Celtics. These two met in the Conference Finals back in 2020 in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida.
For Miami, Jimmy Butler has been outstanding in these playoffs, averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while shooting a 52.5% field goal percentage, and nearly 8 free throw attempts per game. He has come up huge for Miami.
Meanwhile, the Celtics got hot in Game 7 against Milwaukee. Grant Williams, who has never been a true superstar, had a great game with 7 3-pointers. Jayson Tatum has been big for the Celtics all year long, in the regular season and the playoffs. I think this series will be no different for him. It’ll be fun seeing Tatum and Butler go at it during this series, but ultimately, the Heat will prevail.
Prediction: Heat in 6
WCF: Mavericks- Warriors
The Mavericks stunned the NBA’s best team, the Phoenix Suns in 7 games in round 2. They didn’t just beat Phoenix in Game 7, they demolished them 123-90. Luka Doncic has been the player the Mavs needed ever since they drafted him in 2018. “He’s unbelievable,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said of Doncic in 2019. The Warriors knew from the beginning that Doncic would be a big problem, but they didn’t know he’d be this big of one. Do they have the tools to shut him down? Maybe.
Gary Payton II, one of the Warriors best defenders, can’t play because of his fractured elbow, so who can step up in his place? Andrew Wiggins will likely get lots of minutes to play D on him. But mainly, they really can’t have one guy in particular to stop him. They have to have multiple people on him. Draymond Green can switch onto the guard at any time. Klay Thompson had many big-time defensive tasks before his ACL injuries. I think this is probably going to be the most entertaining series of the two. This is going to be difficult to pick, but if I had to pick one, I’d say……
Prediction: Mavericks in 7
I can’t wait to see how these series turn out.
