Starting 5, May 21: Conference finals tip tonight, Class Of 2020 shining
A new champ will be crowned for the sixth straight season.
Four teams remain … all eight wins away from the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The chase continues tonight in Boston.
THE LINEUP 🏀
What’s inside today’s edition?
Class of 2020: Anthony Edwards & Tyrese Haliburton lead nine picks still alive from a special 2020 Draft class
Making Moves: Each Conference Finalist made bold moves that have paid off this season
East Preview: The top two scoring teams meet in the East Finals for the first time
West Preview: A matchup of two elite defenses and the Ant vs. Kyrie matchup history
Best of 2nd Round: Look back at the stories, plays & images from the conference semifinals
BUT FIRST … ⏰
A look at both conference finals schedules.
The Eastern Conference Finals tip off tonight in Boston (8 ET, ESPN) when the Celtics host the Pacers.
Kia All-Rookie Teams Announced: Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren headlined the All-Rookie First Team as the top 10 first-year players were announced on Monday.
Today, the All-Defensive Teams will be announced at 2 ET and the All-NBA Teams will be unveiled Wednesday (8 ET, TNT).
1. CLASS OF 2020 HITS THE CONFERENCE FINALS STAGE
Anthony Edwards. Tyrese Haliburton. Obi Toppin. Aaron Nesmith. Josh Green. Payton Pritchard. Jaden McDaniels. Xavier Tillman. Jalen Smith.
Nine players from the 2020 NBA Draft class are set to appear in the 2024 conference finals. It is the most players from one Draft class to reach the final four since 2016 (with the 2011 class)They’ve taken a path unlike any in NBA history. Their journey to this moment did not start on the NBA Draft stage, but virtually, over a video streamThey missed the pomp and circumstance that surrounds a moment that millions of young hoopers dream ofSo they’ve grabbed the spotlight, with Edwards and Haliburton making superstar jumps in 2024 and their classmates playing bigger and bigger roles on contenders — with all of them 8 wins from an NBA titleThe ascension of Edwards and Haliburton from promising young talents, to All-Stars, to bonafide superstars was on full display as they led their team to Game 7 wins on the road.
Edwards shook off a slow start to spark Minnesota’s record-breaking comeback. He hounded Jamal Murray on defense, forced turnovers, scored nine fast break points and hit a massive 3 late as they held off the defending champsEdwards (27.7 ppg) ranked 5th in the conference semifinals in scoring – only the 8th player age 22 or younger to average 25+ ppg when entering the conference finalsHaliburton led the Pacers to one of the greatest offensive displays in playoff history. The Pacers broke the NBA playoff record by shooting 67.1% as a team… on the road… in a Game 7Haliburton ranks 2nd in total ast and 10th in total pts these playoffs – becoming the first Pacer to reach 200+ pts and 100+ ast in a postseason (and he’s still adding to those totals)In addition to Edwards and Haliburton, four more members of the Class of 2020 averaged at least nine points on 50% shooting or better in the second round.
McDaniels (MIN): 11.3 ppg, 50.9% FGPritchard (BOS): 11.2 ppg, 52.6% FGNesmith (IND): 10.1 ppg, 52% FGToppin (IND): 9.9 ppg, 57.4% FG2. ALL THE RIGHT MOVES
In addition to their work in the NBA Draft, each of the four conference finalists made bold moves over the past two years to help get them to this point.
Minnesota: In an era largely defined by pace, space and 3-point shooting, the Wolves believed in going big.
Prior to last season, they made an all-in move by acquiring then 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns on the frontline.
Their 1st season together was derailed by injuries (Towns missed 52 games), but the 2nd season was a different story. Minnesota had the best defense in the league, their most wins in two decades, and a 4th DPOY for GobertMinnesota also added guard Mike Conley to pair with Edwards in the backcourt, providing a balance of veteran savvy with Ant’s youthful energyDallas: After losing Jalen Brunson in free agency to New York, the Mavs went to another borough to find Luka Doncic’s backcourt partner as they acquired Kyrie Irving from the Nets at the 2023 trade deadline.
The pairing did not yield immediate results, as the Mavs fell out of the postseason picture down the stretch last season. But similar to Minnesota, they believed in the pairingThe Mavs signed Irving to a multi-year deal in the offseason and the first full season of the Luka/Kyrie duo elevated the Dallas offense. But the Mavs weren’t doneAt the 2024 trade deadline, they made two trades to bolster their frontline with the additions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. Dallas’ defense rose from 22nd (117.4) to 6th (110.5) after the trade deadline and has carried over into the Playoffs
Indiana: Two key trade deadline deals have led the Pacers to two cornerstone players – Haliburton (2022 deal with the Kings) and Pascal Siakam (2024 deal with the Raptors).
After a strong In-Season Tournament showing, Indy made the move to acquire Siakam — a two-time All-Star and 2019 champ — to add a veteran presence and another wing threat for HaliburtonBoston: The Celtics have been knocking on the door. Prior to this season, they had been to five of the past seven East Finals, made it to the 2022 NBA Finals, but still on the hunt for title No. 18.
Rather than run it back again, Boston shook things up last offseason, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue HolidayThe pieces fell perfectly into place as the Celtics posted their best record (64-18) since their last title season in 2008 (66-16) and ran away with the East3. TOP TWO OFFENSES MEET IN EAST FINALS
Light Up The Scoreboard: For only the 4th time since 1970-71 (when the NBA established conferences) the top two scoring teams in the league will meet in the conference finals — and the first time in the East.
2024: Indiana (123.3 ppg) and Boston (120.6)2018: Golden State (113.5) and Houston (112.4)2016: Golden State (114.9) and Oklahoma City (110.2)1985: Denver (120.0) and L.A. Lakers (118.2)The Celtics and Pacers met five times during the regular season — thanks to an additional meeting in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament – and combined to average 245.8 ppg against one another — slightly above their combined season averages.
Indiana won that East quarterfinal matchup in the In-Season Tournament (122-112) as the Pacers were one of just four teams to beat the Celtics multiple times this season. The others: Denver, Milwaukee and AtlantaThe In-Season Tournament provided the first Playoff-like atmosphere for much of the Pacers roster – keep in mind their run to the title game came before the trade-deadline addition of Siakam.
Boston brings a major advantage in Playoff pedigree – 131 combined games of Conference Finals experience compared to just 21 combined games for the PacersBoston opened the season as the favorite to win the East (53%) and co-favorite with Denver to win the title (33%) according to the GM Survey. Indy got zero votes on each questionWhile the Celtics have aspirations of winning their 18th championship and first since 2008, the Pacers are still seeking their first NBA championship since entering at the mergerDive deeper into this matchup with Steve Aschburner’s series preview
4. ELITE DEFENSES MEET IN WEST FINALS
Strength vs. New Strength: Minnesota has had a top-three defense all season long and currently ranks 2nd among the four conference finalists behind Boston. Dallas, on the other hand, didn’t reach the upper tier defensively until after the trade deadline.
Fresh Look: With all four regular-season meetings coming before the trade deadline, the Wolves have not faced the new-look Mavs and their new defensive prowessThe Wolves’ two-big frontline of Towns and Gobert and Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid will have to contend with the new-look frontline of Washington and Gafford with rookie Dereck Lively II coming off the benchWhile Minnesota’s core players appeared in all four matchups this season, the Mavs were missing Kyrie Irving for three and Luka Doncic for two of those Wolves matchupsKey Matchup: Edwards called out his West Finals matchup when discussing the series on Inside The NBA.
“It’s gonna be fun man. My matchup is gonna be Kyrie, so that’s gonna be fun. We’ll see what I can do vs. him.”So What Has Edwards Done vs. Kyrie? Let’s break out some matchup data. Ant has faced Kyrie once per season over his first four years in the NBA. Edwards has defended Irving twice as much as Irving has defended Edwards in those games.
Kyrie Off vs. Edwards Def: 37 pts on 78 poss, 64% (16-25) shooting, 55.6% (5-9) from 3Edwards Off vs. Kyrie Def: 23 pts on 41 poss, 64.3% (9-14) shooting, 100% (3-3) from 3Neither player has been able to slow the other in their annual regular-season meetings. But with each possession growing in intensity over the course of a best-of-7, what adjustments will they (and their teams) make?
Dive deeper into this matchup with Michael C. Wright’s series preview
5. BEST OF THE CONFERENCE SEMIS
You took that deep breath with no games yesterday, right?
Good.
Let’s take a look back at the Second Round, before the four teams remaining battle for basketball’s highest prize.
Wildest Endings: Coffee not kicking in yet? Plug in to the most electric finishes from the Conference SemisBest Of Round 2: Starting with the Wolves’ record-setting comeback in Game 7, take in 90 minutes of the top moments from the Second RoundTop Plays Of Round 2: The Kyrie lefty finish. Jamal’s half-court heave. What else made the cut?Biggest Game 7 Comebacks of the past 10 years📸 Top Photos Of The Conference Semis
Knicks-Pacers: In the third 7-game series between these rivals, the home team won every game … until Indy put up one of the greatest shooting performances in Playoff history in Game 7 to win in MSG.
For the Knicks, the loss marked the end of an inspiring run – one in which Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and NY fought off injury after injury to log long minutes and grind their way to the brink of their first Conference Finals since 2000.
Celtics-Cavs: Cleveland took Game 2 in Boston on the strength of another massive Playoff performance from Donovan Mitchell, but the Celtics’ record-setting offense proved too much for a team that had weathered obstacle after obstacle in 2023-24.
For the Cavs, whose depth and tenacity saw them jump into the top of the East after a red-hot start to 2024, the Conference Semis trip marked their first since 4 straight NBA Finals runs between 2015-2018.
Wolves-Nuggets: A year after the Nuggets eliminated the Timberwolves in the First Round, Minnesota’s league-leading defense put the clamps on the champs at home in Games 1-2.
Then, after Denver rallied back to win three straight, the Wolves found another level, staging the largest Game 7 comeback since 1997-98 to win.
After bringing the first NBA title to Denver last year, and seeing Nikola Jokic claim his 3rd Kia NBA MVP and Jamal Murray come up clutch against the Lakers, the Nuggets now head home … where they’ll plan for next year, when they become ‘the hunter,’ in Murray’s words.
Dallas-OKC: In a series that pitted together two of the NBA’s top scorers, in Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Mavs broke a 2-2 series tie – thanks in large part to a few key role players – with a dominant Game 5 win and an epic rally to take Game 7.
Exactly one GM picked the Thunder to finish 4th in this year’s NBA GM Survey (nobody picked them anywhere else). Then OKC became the youngest team to ever win a conference. By two years. With rising stars left & right, what’s next?
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