<p>Welcome to the next round of the NBA post-season where the truly whacky and wonderful take place.</p> <p>After last rounds semi-finals, we’ve learned that the big-time basketball keeps on delivering with two series going the distance to game seven. Including one instant classic.</p> <p>It leaves us with four. The Celtics and the Pacers in the East, and the Timberwolves and the Mavericks in the West.</p> <p>Come the end of June, one of Anthony Edwards (22 years old), Tyrese Haliburton (24), Luka Doncic (25), or Jayson Tatum (26) will have a ring.</p> <p>Every one of them is younger now than the likes of Lebron, MJ, KD, and Steph Curry among others by the time they won their first.</p> <p>Who will make it through the final round to progress through to the NBA Finals? And contend for the prestigious Larry O’Brien trophy.</p> <p>Check out our NBA Conference Finals below!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Eastern Conference</h2> <h3>Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers Prediction</h3> <p>The league-leading Celtics continued their dominant run through the East with, yet another five-game series win against the Cavs.</p> <p>The Pacers went the distance against the Knicks but managed to progress comfortably in game seven in a final-game rout.</p> <p>These are two fantastic offence teams with battles all over the floor to look out for. The big one? The showdown between Tyrese Haliburton against the Celtics defence.</p> <p>The Indiana point guard and floor general was urged publicly to raise his aggression against the Knicks and boy did he answer the call.</p> <p>He averaged 24 points on 17.5 shots in the Pacers’ four victories compared to 17.6 and 11.3 in the three defeats.</p> <p>But the Celtics will pose a much different challenge to Haliburton, with Jrue Holiday and Derrick White forming part of the second-rated defence in the league, and will be much better equipped at containing him like other quality sides have been able to do.</p> <p>Indiana has to keep its pace high because the Celtics’ half-court defence could choke off Haliburton and whatever offense he tries to initiate.</p> <p>While they didn’t necessarily miss him in the series against the Cavs, The Celtics will again begin the series without Kristaps Porzingis, which could give Pacers wing Pascal Siakam the upper hand in the early matches. But the Celtics should have the edge with depth in both talent and experience on their roster.</p> <p>Getting their injured centre back at some point in this series could restore order and help him ramp up for a potential Finals. Size will matter more against whichever team comes out of the West.&nbsp;</p> <p>Boston is the team playing under pressure in this series. The Celts won 17 more games than Indiana during the season and has knocked on the door of a championship for most of the Tatum-Brown era.</p> <p>The Pacers, by contrast, took a nice step to 47 victories, but are just off a three-year playoff drought. In this showdown, Boston should win on experience, depth, and urgency.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: Celtics in 5</p>

<h2>Western Conference</h2> <h3>Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves</h3> <p>The Timberwolves are back in the Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years.</p> <p>After losing three straight games, including two at home, to Denver, the Wolves stifled the Nuggets in a 45-point annihilation in Game 6 and then overcame a 20-point, second-half deficit to defeat the Nuggets 98-90 in Game 7 to send the defending champions and 3x MVP Nikola Jokic packing.</p> <p>Luka Dončić led the way for his Dallas Mavericks as they got past Aussie ace Josh Giddey and OKC. Progressing to the conference finals in six.</p> <p>Which gives us a rare matchup for the Western Conference finals as this is only the second time in history that both these teams will meet in a playoff series.</p> <p>Dončić is banged up. It has been a running storyline throughout this post-season. Despite entering the playoffs with a career postseason scoring average of 32.5 points, he is not even in the top 10 in points per game during this run.</p> <p>Even with the injuries, though, it feels like an offensive breakout is on the way. The five-time All-Star has just been too good a playoff performer to expect him to keep shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from three.</p> <p>While the Wolves have proven their defensive capabilities this season, the question is, will they be able to match the might of the great Slovenian and his partner in crime Kyrie Irving?</p> <p>This is a championship-calibre defence the Wolves have put together. With a bona fide potential face in the league in Anthony Edwards leading the charge on the other end.</p> <p>Minnesota is the biggest, most athletic team left in the field. The roster is deep, and well-balanced and has four current or former All-Stars in the starting five.</p> <p>Dallas has been impressive, and it has two of the best offensive weapons the NBA has ever seen, but the Wolves are well-equipped to make life just difficult enough to advance. Especially after they contained the Nuggets to under 100 points as many times as they did.</p> <p>The momentum is with the Timberwolves as they chase their first finals in franchise history. Another classic looms.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: Timberwolves in 7</p>