2024 NBA Playoff Update For May 20th

     

2024 NBA Playoff Update

2024 NBA Playoff Update

Over the weekend, the remaining three teams still alive right now in the NBA playoffs punched their ticket to the Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics, the number one overall seed, had already gotten past the Cleveland Cavaliers in five to earn another appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, all of the other participants in the Conference Finals are known, as well.

It began out West, where the Dallas Mavericks staged an impressive comeback at home in Game 6, and eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder.

However, that comeback paled in comparison to what the Minnesota Timberwolves managed to do in Game 7 in Denver yesterday. Down by 20 points against the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the T-Wolves mounted a huge comeback, and a nearly 30-point swing on the road in the second half to stun Denver. They dethroned the champions, and now move on to the Western Conference Finals, where they will meet the Dallas Mavericks.

I will be honest: when I left for work, it appeared that Denver still had the game under control. So I had assumed - wrongly - that they were well on their way to a win. So it was a stunner to find out that, in fact, they had fallen to Minnesota. The Timberwolves advance to the Western Conference Finals for only the second time in franchise history. 

There was another Game 6 in the East, with the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks fittingly meeting at Madison Square Garden. These two teams have met often in the playoffs since the 1990's, as this was the eighth overall postseason meeting between the franchises. The Pacers did not need a huge comeback, as they got off to a very solid start. It seemed their offense could not miss early on, and took a decent lead. Having just worked a double, and scheduled to work the overnight shift, I went to sleep with the Pacers up by 12 at the end of the first quarter. But it seemed that the Pacers had often had fairly decent leads early in games at MSG, only to see the Knicks rally and win. 

Things were different this time, however. Indiana kept shooting incredibly well, and eventually wore New York down. Fans of the Knicks at the Garden nevertheless deservedly gave their team a standing ovation for the tremendous season, and the great effort in these playoffs.

Now, Indiana advances to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. There, they will meet the Celtics, who were - and remain - my pick to represent the East in the NBA Finals. I actually felt that they would win the NBA Finals. Still holding onto that as my pick, although having picked Denver to emerge out of the West, obviously I have to make adjustments. So I am picking the Minnesota Timberwolves to beat Dallas, and to give the Celtics a really hard time in the NBA Finals. Ultimately, I still believe that Boston is the team to beat.