JC: Welcome back to EE-SPN. This is episode 11, and we are here to discuss the NBA Conference Finals for the 2024-25 season. 

SB: I’m Samika. 

JC: And I’m Jason, and let’s start. So I guess the two series are Knicks vs. Pacers and Timberwolves vs. Thunder. So which one should we talk about first? 

SB: We can go ahead and just talk about some fun stats, actually, that I pulled up for both of these series. So I thought it was actually pretty interesting that the average Western Conference Final ticket price is $170 and then the average Eastern Conference Final ticket price is $791.

JC: Oh, wow. 

SB: Yeah, I know. I think it just says a lot about how some of these small-market teams are really trying to make an impact by making it to the finals, and I think it’s a great thing for the NBA.

JC: I completely agree. I think I’ve been hearing similar things about the ratings, particularly of the NBA. And obviously there’s some controversies and stuff that’s been going on with the officiating and other stuff like that, which is pretty normal, but, yeah, that’s kind of interesting that they’re doing this. 

SB: I think that we have two really solid matchups that are quite exciting. You know, for the Eastern Conference Finals, we have another rivalry reignited. We have the Pacers and Knicks, which we all know is a pretty great rivalry. And I think it’s quite funny that we actually have Reggie Miller, a former Indiana Pacers player, he’s gonna be commentating for all of the Eastern Conference Finals games. I find that quite funny. And I also saw a clip the other day of a Pacers fan getting heckled in New York City. He was just getting ambushed by a bunch of Knicks fans. And did you see what [Tyrese] Haliburton did? 

JC: Yeah, he flew him out, right? 

SB: Yep. So he’s going to be paying for his ticket for the game. So I think it just goes to show that there’s a lot of intrigue in these series, because last year, there nothing was really delivering in terms of excitement. But we have really supportive fan bases and it’ll be exciting to see. Let’s get into some of our predictions. We can start off with the Western Conference Finals: Timberwolves vs. Thunder. Just go ahead. Who do you think is gonna win and how much?

JC: Yeah. So I, as much as I kind of don’t like to say this, I do think that the Thunder are going to take it. And I think they were kind of favored overall, because obviously they’re the number one seed in the West. And I think last night’s game was kind of a bit of a show of that. It was basically a blowout, and I think particularly Anthony Edwards — obviously, he had a little injury during the game with his ankle, I think — but I particularly think he needs to be consistent, especially as the leading scorer on his team. And I think at least Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is really consistent from all of his games. So I think Ant [Anthony Edwards] should need to play at that level as well. And we know he can, He’s easily dropped 40 points in some of the games and just taken over. So definitely consistency, I think, is the big thing. What do you think?

SB: Yeah, no, I would agree. I do want to ask, how many games do you think the Thunder are going to take it in? 

JC: It’s a tough one. I think the Timberwolves will get at least two. So, maybe six or maybe seven. 

SB: Six to seven, I think that’s a good estimate. I would agree with you about just saying the Thunder’s ability having a very strong offense, but I do want to give it to the Timberwolves just for intrigue, because I think they have, they have great two-way players. Let’s just look at Anthony Edwards right now. You know last night’s game, he missed, he missed a layup- 

JC: It was the block. 

SB: And as soon as –– yeah, it was the block. It was the block right as soon as the Thunder got it back and they were gonna go for another layup, he just blocked it. So it shows his ferocity and it shows his tenacity. He won’t give up, you know, but I definitely agree about improving his shot selection and just how much he’s shooting in general. Yesterday, the Timberwolves were shooting quite poorly from three, almost 20% which I think is quite ridiculous for, you know, a Western Conference Finals game. You really need to lock in and take it seriously. The three point shooting has just not been that great so far, which is quite surprising, because, you know, we saw some players like Julius Randle stepping up in the first half. He had five threes in the first half, quite impressive. He was really taking on that bulk of the three point shooting. But after that, it went kind of south. In the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards, he had zero points. So I think he just really needs to show up in the playoffs, because his overall playoff record is he scores 27.1 points per game, and he’s had over six 30-point games, so he can definitely step up when he needs to. It’s just that in the postseason, we’re trying to see that ferocity. And so far with his shooting, it’s been kind of unpredictable in terms of when he wants to show up.

JC: And I also think it’s worth to talk about like, sort of other players on the Timberwolves, like Jaden McDaniels, you mentioned Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert. Naz Reid, he didn’t particularly have a good, that good of a game. 

SB: He didn’t.

JC: Neither did Jaden McDaniels or Rudy Gobert, for that matter.

SB: Yeah, they have issues with their bench depth. 

JC: Yeah, I think at least from the Warrior series, a lot of these players kind of stepped up and took larger roles. We didn’t really see that in yesterday’s game But yeah, the other starters on the Thunder are doing really well as well, like  Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, they’re always pretty consistent. And Shai of course, he had 31 last night.

SB: Yeah, they might announce the MVP today, which is crazy. Yeah, I think it’ll go to him. But there were some controversies, actually, yesterday about how many free throws he got to shoot. So he got to shoot quite a lot of free throws. He made 11 of them, and he had seven free throw attempts in the first quarter. Just the first quarter — seven. And, you know, I actually found it quite funny. Mike Breen, one of the commentators, was talking about Shai’s ability to keep other players accountable, because he’s going to take any opportunity to get some contact on him. And then Doris Burke was saying that there’s a reason why NBA Twitter calls him the free throw merchant. So I think it just goes to show although some Timberwolves fans may blame the officiating, and while I do agree with that that Shai gets quite a few easy calls, and he gets some calls that aren’t even necessary, he does have that tendency to flop and reach out for those calls, I will say they need to improve their three point shooting if they really want a shot at the Western Conference Final ring and just making it, because right now they haven’t been really showing their intense caliber.

JC: Yeah, I think that the Shai free throw narrative is kind of not just something that was yesterday, but it’s been going on for most of the season. But yeah, you can’t deny that he’s definitely a powerhouse. The best player, obviously, on the Thunder and most likely in the NBA.

SB: Let’s go on to the Eastern Conference Finals. So we have the Pacers and Knicks. And as we said, this is another classic rivalry that will be reignited. If you don’t mind, I’m going to share my prediction first. 

JC: Of course, go for it.

SB: I think this will be another close one, and I really want this to go to a game seven. But for some reason, I feel that the Pacers might have this in six. Yeah, I really want the Knicks to win, though, just because I think a Knicks and Timberwolves series would feed families. You know, we have Julius Randle and then we have KAT [Karl Anthony Towns], you know, two players who are on the opposite teams, and they got traded. It would be fantastic to see that. But I really do think the Pacers have a solid shot because Tyrese Haliburton, when it comes to the playoffs, has 10.2 assists per game. He’s the current leader in assists per game for the playoffs. So it really shows how he’s able to step up in those moments where it’s needed. You know, even when he won’t be the strongest shooter that night, he’ll show up in different ways. 

JC: Yeah, I think I’m gonna have to agree with you on this one. Actually, I do think the Pacers are going to win, or at least I want them to win, because, you know, it’s kind of just the ultimate underdog story. You get Haliburton called the most overrated player, and he kind of just goes to prove them wrong throughout all of these series, and has huge, huge games all around. And I think just the offense overall, everything has stepped up, like so much for the Pacers. 

SB: I mean, I think Karl Anthony Towns, he’s kind of proved the haters wrong. I know a lot of people thought that this trade wasn’t worth it for him and that he wasn’t able to show up in New York, but he’s been doing tremendous so far. I think we can see that, you know, he’s been great on the defensive end as well, and he’s kind of been locked into that chemistry with Jalen Brunson. They’ve been working quite well together with Karl Anthony Towns getting those assists when needed, and handing it to Jalen Brunson to get those really important three point shots. 

JC: I think overall, I’m just really excited to see, I guess, all of these teams, like we mentioned at the start, it would be the first time in 50 years for any of these teams to win a championship. And I think it’s really good to see, like we’ve seen teams like the Celtics sort of rise up, the Warriors had their dynasty. Like, it’s good to see these kinds of new teams and then see how far these players can develop and yeah we’ve got a lot of interesting stories, some underdog stories. Yeah, a lot to look out for.

SB: Definitely. That’s all we have for today, but thank you for tuning in, and we hope to see you next time!