The NBA’s Conference Finals are here! Both fans and basketball bettors are pumped for these matchups.

The Eastern Conference will see the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers reignite their rivalry from the 80s and 90s as these two talented squads are one step away from the NBA Championship for the first time since that golden era of basketball.

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted a tough Denver team and will now face the hottest squad in the West – the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards has dispatched of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler so far. Can he add Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to that hit list?

Let’s take a look at the latest NBA Playoffs odds and make our NBA picks for each NBA Playoff series.

When Do The NBA Playoffs Start?

The NBA Playoffs begin on Saturday, April 19. However, the NBA Play-In Tournament will tip off the postseason festivities on Tuesday, April 15 and run through Thursday, April 18.

NBA Playoff Schedule

The following is a breakdown of the 2025 NBA Playoffs Schedule:

• April 15-18: NBA Play-In Tournament
• April 19: NBA Playoffs First Round begin
• May 3-May 17: NBA Conference Semifinals
• May 20-June 2: NBA Conference Finals
• June 5-June 22: NBA Finals

These dates are flexible as the Conference Semifinals and Finals can start earlier depending on how the series play out. Additionally, these dates also include seven games for each series, if necessary.

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NBA Playoffs Bracket

Let’s take a look at the 2025 NBA Playoffs Bracket:

NBA Playoffs First Round

Eastern Conference

• No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. no. 8 Miami Heat
• No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. no. 7 Orlando Magic
• No. 3 New York Knicks vs. no. 6 Detroit Pistons
• No. 4 Indiana Pacers vs. no. 5 Milwaukee Bucks

Western Conference

• No. 1 OKC Thunder vs. no. 8 Memphis Grizzlies
• No. 2 Houston Rockets vs. no.7 Golden State Warriors
• No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs. no. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
• No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs. no. 5 Los Angeles Clippers

NBA Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Indiana Pacers
• Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks

Western Conference

• OKC Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets
• Golden State Warriors vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

NBA Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks

Western Conference

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

NBA Finals

Eastern Conference winner vs. Western Conference winner

NBA Playoff Odds

Check out the latest NBA Playoff odds, courtesy of the best sports betting sites:

NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Predictions

Check out our NBA predictions for the Eastern Conference Finals:

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks

The Eastern Conference Finals will come down to two long-time rivals – the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. In fact, this series gives me goosebumps as it reminds me of the 80s and 90s when these two franchises battled it out.

Although it’s a shock that the Boston Celtics have been eliminated, we’re really in for a treat with this series. And, I expect it to go at least six games, if not seven. However, before I make my picks, let’s quickly recap how we got here.

The Knicks dispatched the injury riddled and outgunned Celtics team. Yet, before Tatum got hurt, Boston was already on the ropes. So, let’s not pretend that the Knicks weren’t on the verge of winning the series prior to his awful injury.

For New York, they seemed to sleepwalk at times during their opening round matchup versus the Pistons. Yet, they came alive in the second round. As I stated before the round began, New York was built to beat the Celtics. I just didn’t think it would happen.

The Knicks have the advantage in physicality, rebounds, toughness, and depth. So, the Pacers will need to play their best basketball in this series. Over the first two rounds, Indiana has been the best team in the Eastern Conference with an 8-2 record and dispatching the Bucks and top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

For the Pacers, they will need their bench to step up and at least play as well as the Knicks’ bench. For New York, they need Mitchell Robinson to play as well as he did against the Celtics.

Over the last 10 meetings, these teams have split them with five wins apiece. They’re also 5-5 ATS over that span and have looked even for the most part. Even their points scored over those 10 meetings are 115ppg apiece.

With that said, I think this is Indiana’s year to get to the Finals. As much as I love seeing Playoff Jalen (yes, I’m calling him that) shine like nobody else, Tyrese Haliburton is playing some of his best basketball.

The Pacers won numerous road games in Cleveland and Milwaukee over the first two rounds. They aren’t phased by road games or hostile environments, which you know Madison Square Garden will be.

This series is going to be fun to watch, and it’s disappointing that someone has to lose. I’m taking the Pacers in six games. I have been riding them since the start of the Playoffs, and I’m not going to jump off the bandwagon now.

I love their spread of +1.5 games. If the Knicks do win, it will be in seven games. Either way, the Pacers are covering that spread no matter the outcome of the series.

Bet: Indiana Pacers (+135), Pacers +1.5 (-160), Over 5.5 (-190)

NBA Playoffs: Western Conference Predictions

Check out our NBA predictions for the opening round of the NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference:

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

On May 20, the Western Conference Finals tip off with the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder. For the second straight year, the T-Wolves are in the Conference Finals. Last year, they lost to Dallas 4-1.

For the Thunder, it’s the first time since 2016, they they’re playing in the Conference Finals. That year, OKC lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-1.

Speaking of the Warriors, they were dispatched by the Timberwolves 4-1 in the Conference Semifinals. One has to wonder how the series would’ve turned out if Golden State had a healthy Steph Curry.

Nevertheless, we have an exciting Conference Finals with two teams that feature some of the brightest, young stars in the league. For the Timberwolves, they’re led by Anthony Edwards who has been an absolute beast in the Playoffs. Edwards is averaging 26.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 5.9 apg.

OKC features the NBA MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is averaging 29.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 6.4 apg. Sure, one could make a case for Nikola Jokic as the MVP, but SGA is my choice.

Speaking of Jokic, the Thunder dispatched of the best center in the league as they eliminated the Nuggets in seven games.

The Thunder went 68-14 during the regular season, which was the best record in the NBA. However, two of those losses came against the Timberwolves as these two teams split the season series at two wins apiece.

Now, we know that Edwards and SGA will lead their teams into an epic series. However, the X-factors will be Chet Holmgren for OKC and Julius Randle for Minnesota. In fact, Randle is playing some of the best basketball of his career with averages of 23.9 ppg, 5.9 apg, 5.9rpg through 10 Playoff games.

With that said, no disrespect to the great Anthony Edwards but Minnesota’s depth will be their downfall. The Thunder have the starting five to match Minnesota in every aspect whether it’s points, rebounds or defense. Yet, OKC also has far more depth than the Timberwolves do.

In fact, OKC can run 10 deep and send wave after wave of playmakers. Furthermore, their defense is the best in the league.

Minnesota is 28-18 on the road, while the Thunder are 41-8 at home this season. So, if each team wins out on their home court, then OKC will come away with the 4-3 series win.

The Timberwolves are 11-11 ATS as the Underdog. They will be the Underdog in the series and probably every game for as long as this matchup lasts.

Take the Thunder to win in five games as OKC shows the NBA why they have been the best team all season long.

Bet: OKC Thunder (-360), Thunder -2.5 (+125), Under 5.5 (-105)

Scores and Stats NBA Playoffs Betting Recap

The following is a quick recap of our NBA Playoff predictions per round:

First Round Predictions

Our Eastern Conference predictions were on-point with all four picks winning their series. The Celtics, Pacers and Cavs all won as easily as expected. The Knicks pulled off a hard-fought victory as we predicted.

The Western Conference was a different story and largely due to the evenly matched teams in the opening round. The Thunder swept the Grizzlies as most thought they would, but the two Los Angeles teams fell short of expectations and predictions.

The Lakers ended up losing to the Timberwolves in five games and the Clippers fell short in game seven of their series against the Nuggets. The Warriors and Rockets also went seven games and put on one of the most entertaining series of the first round. And, as we picked, the Warriors upstaged the no.2 Rockets.

After the first round of the NBA Playoffs, we went 6-2 in our NBA series predictions.

Second Round Predictions

A 2-2 split for the second round is nothing to hang my head about. I still believe the Warriors would’ve beat the Timberwolves if they had a healthy Steph Curry. Additionally, although the Knicks were putting the hurt on the Celtics prior to Tatum’s injury, closing out a Boston team that’s fully healthy could’ve still been problematic for New York.

With that said, the Pacers won in five games as we predicted. I pounded the table for you all to “hammer the Pacers’ spread at +2.5 (-135).” Indiana is on a heater and definitely earning bettors money each round.

The Thunder vs. Nuggets went the full seven games, which was more than expected. Denver showed why they’re a perennial contender to win the NBA title with Jokic on the roster. Yet, OKC proved that they are the best team in the NBA this year.