From Jalen Brunson’s series-winning shot to Buddy Hield’s magical game seven, round one of the NBA playoffs brought us some huge moments. The eight first-round matchups ended over the weekend with two final teams punching their tickets to the next round. With the second round now underway, just eight teams are left to compete for the 2025 championship.

In the Western Conference, the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder take on the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets in a battle of the top-two MVP candidates. After taking down LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, the sixth-seed Minnesota Timberwolves look to see if they can send another legend home for the summer in Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

The first-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers look to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals (ECF) for the first time since 2018. Standing in their way is the Indiana Pacers, who stormed to the ECF just last year. Reigning champions Boston Celtics aim to continue their quest for back-to-back titles against Brunson’s New York Knicks, who haven’t played in the ECF since 2000.

With only four spots up for grabs in the conference finals, here’s who you can expect to see in the next round.

Oh, and of course, you’re getting a heavily biased Timberwolves pick.

(1) Oklahoma City (OKC) v. (4) Denver

This matchup features a battle of the two top MVP candidates, the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic. After a last second, game winning three gave Denver a game one win, OKC bounced back to even the series at 1-1.

With the series heading back to Denver, I’m liking the way OKC responded to their heartbreaking game one defeat. In their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Thunder proved that they don’t need Gilgeous-Alexander to play like an MVP to win playoff games. The star shot just 40% from the field and 25% from three against the Grizzlies. This didn’t stop OKC from clobbering their opponents—the Thunder won each game by an average of 20 points. 

After watching the first two games of this series, it’s clear to me that the Thunder are the better team overall. Nikola Jokic may be my pick for this year’s MVP, but his skill is not enough to win this series.

Prediction: Thunder in 5

(1) Cleveland v. (4) Indiana

Prior to the start of this series, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked like a whole different beast. Cleveland spent their last two weeks destroying the Miami Heat in round one by a combined 122 points in four games, the largest playoff series deficit in history. At the start of the series, it seemed that the Cavs were pre-destined to storm into the next round.

That was until the Pacers raced into Rocket Arena and shocked Cleveland by winning the first two games of the series. Was it a fluke, or was it Indiana’s first two steps towards a massive second-round upset? With the series headed back to Indy, the Cavs’ chances of pulling this one off seems rather slim.

Prediction: Pacers in 6

(2) Boston v. (3) New York

The Knicks face Boston, trying to answer one burning question: Can they beat the NBA’s best teams? During the regular season, New York faced Cleveland and Boston, the two teams atop the Eastern Conference, eight times. Their record? 0-8. Many fans found this concerning while looking at Boston’s experience and hunger to win back-to-back titles.

Well, this is why they say the regular season doesn’t matter. New York’s grit has propelled them to a 2-0 series lead— something I never would have guessed a few days ago. To say this feels wrong considering the Knicks’ miserable history, but I think they might have this series in the bag.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

(6) Minnesota v. (7) Golden State

Here you go, you already know who I’m picking. The week before my Timberwolves faced off against the Lakers, I saw and heard the phrase “Lakers in 5” everywhere I went. Flash forward five games later, the Lakers were taking a five-hour flight to Cancun. 

After packing up the Lakers, the Wolves have spent the past week resting and preparing for their second-round series. What were their second-round opponents, the Golden State Warriors, up to? They were struggling, nearly blew a 3-1 lead over the inexperienced Houston Rockets before finally sealing the series in game seven.

Sadly, the Wolves played some of their worst basketball all year— embarrassingly losing game one at home. Over the past few days, basketball fans rushed to share a common prediction for the series: “Warriors in 6.” It’s like they’ll never learn.

Mark my words— the Wolves will bounce back. Bias aside, Minnesota has superior depth and defense compared to Golden State. The Warriors are banged up, Curry is out for a week after getting hurt in game one and Jimmy Butler was sidelined for a couple of games in the first round. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards will play better as the series goes on, as he is hungry to slay another giant in Curry’s Warriors. Someone’s going to win this series in six games– but it’s not Golden State.

Prediction: Wolves in 6