The Conference Finals matchups in the NBA playoffs are set and many questions are still in play.
Is this the Rockets’ year? Will we see Warriors-Cavs IV? Will Lebron James make it to his eighth consecutive Finals? How will the Celtics keep playing without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward?
There were many exciting matchups in both the East and the West in the first-round and the second round, and the Conference Finals matchups are very intriguing.
In the Eastern Conference first-round series, the 1-seeded Toronto Raptors (59-23) defeated the 8-seeded Washington Wizards (44-39) 4-2, the 2nd-seeded Boston Celtics (55-27) beat the 7th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks (44-38) in seven games, the 3rd-seeded Philadelphia 76ers (52-30) defeated the 6th-seeded Miami Heat (44-38) in five games, and the 4th-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (50-32) defeated the 5th-seeded Indiana Pacers (48-34) in seven games.
As for Western Conference 1st round matchups, the 1-seeded Houston Rockets (65-17) took down the 8th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (47-35) in five games, the 2nd-seeded Golden State Warriors (58-24) eliminated the 7th-seeded San Antonio Spurs (47-35) in five games, the 3rd-seeded Portland Trail-Blazers (49-33) lost to the 6th-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (48-34) in a four-game sweep, and the 4th-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (48-34) fell to the 5th-seeded Utah Jazz (48-34) in six games.
The second round matchups in the East were Raptors-Cavs and Celtics-Sixers. Lebron led the Cavs to a sweep of the Raptors that included a Game 3 game-winning buzzer beater, his second buzzer beater this postseason. Head coach Brad Stevens led his well-rounded Celtics to a win over the Sixers in five games as rookie Jayson Tatum lead the team in scoring with 23.6 a game.
Matchups in the West for second round were Rockets-Jazz and Warriors-Pelicans. The Rockets won their series against the Jazz in five games thanks to likely MVP James Harden’s 28 points a game and his backcourt buddy Chris Paul’s 24.6. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans in five games with Kevin Durant leading the team in scoring with 27.8 a game.
The Conference Finals matchups are underway. Currently, the Rockets-Warriors series is tied 1-1 and the Celtics-Cavs series is 2-0 in Boston’s favor. Game 3s are on May 19 (Celtics at Cavs at 8:30 pm on ESPN) and May 20 (Rockets at Warriors at 8:00 pm on TNT) as each series shifts to the other team’s home court.
