After a second round for the ages, we’ve reached the NBA’s final four. While the Boston Celtics relatively cruised to the conference finals, the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves both won Game 7s on the road in stunning fashion to advance, and the Dallas Mavericks won two straight games to outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder in six. With a full 48 hours before the conference finals begin, we paneled our NBA experts to examine the first two rounds and preview Celtics-Pacers and Wolves-Mavericks.
Let’s dive in. Seerat Sohi : Players to average 29/5.5/5.
5 on 50 percent shooting in the playoffs and make it to the conference finals? Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, Nikola Jokic, and now Anthony Edwards (OK, technically 28.9), who was also the Timberwolves’ best Jamal Murray stopper. Edwards’s movements are Jordan-esque.
His efficiency and aggression harken back to ’06 Dwyane Wade. And who else does making big fourth-quarter plays in a Game 7 despite going 6-for-24 remind you of? Edwards, next in a generational line of captivating shooting guards, is the face of these playoffs—and maybe, in a few weeks, the NBA. Zach Kram : The Mavericks are a team-best plus-87 when Dereck Lively II is on the court and a team-worst minus-47 when he’s off.
Rookies aren’t supposed to have this sort of impact in the playoffs. Michael Pina : So many candidates, but I have to go with Jalen Brunson. The leadership, shotmaking, intelligence, poise, force, and .
