The 2022 NBA Conference Finals

We are now well into the NBA Conference finals – and what a journey it has been to reach this point. Some games have been predictable, whilst others have caused some upsets. No doubt, NBA bettors will be ready to start making their bets on the finals now as the 2nd June starts looming ever nearer.

The Final Four

After some big battles, the final four teams were unveiled – with the top-seeded Miami Heat having to face the Boston Celtics, and the Golden State Warriors having to take on the Dallas Mavericks. With both conferences’ Finals teams from last year eliminated, the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks, right now it feels as though anything could happen – but let’s take a look at some possibilities…

The Miami Heat

It seems that no matter what the outcome, Jimmy Butler will be the best player in the series. Both Heat and the Celtics are teams stuffed with talent and in any four-seven game stretch Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo could all have the chance to emerge with the ‘best player in the series’ number. However, this is Jimmy Butler’s honour this year in this Eastern Conference Final. That’s not simply a bold prediction, but simply an acknowledgement of what he’s already achieved. To date, he’s averaged 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.6 threes. He has also posted a 61.8 true shooting percentage. He is literally giving his team everything.

However, Boston has the size and versatility to make things difficult for the team and challenge them in a way that they haven’t seen already this postseason.

The Boston Celtics

This team at the moment is very much about Jayson Tatum. He has always been pegged as a top-five player this season. In his 5th season in the NBA, it all came together for him on both ends. Not only did he remain the number one scoring option, but he also managed to guard like a Defensive Player of the Year contender.  His ability to be a wing player that leads the league in defensive win shares is rare indeed.

His skills in the regular season have carried through to the postseason – in fact, he seems to have only gotten better. Even in these games against Butler, there will almost certainly be periods of play when he is the best on the floor. There is definitely a strong case for Tatum to be named Best Wing in the NBA right now.

The Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have Luka Doncic, who looks set to finish the Conference Finals as the all-time leading scorer in the playoffs. Right now, he is already close to Michael Jordan for the highest career postseason scoring average. After he dropped 35 in a blowout in Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns, he is up to 32.7 compared to Jordan’s 33.5.

As long as there is no remarkable return from Gary Payton II, then there’s every chance that Doncic could climb up. Golden State, however, will fight to the very end and will have options to send his way – including Draymond Green. However, Payton II was the team’s top perimeter defender and Luka seems to be well aware of what he is on the brink of achieving right now. As such, he will certainly be pulling out some monster performances right now.

Golden State Warriors

Here, all eyes will be on Klay Thompson. In the first 5 games of their second-round series against the Grizzlies, he averaged 16.2 points on 16.8 shots. However, he looked a little slow on defence – and a little bit too hasty on offence. He has had nearly 1000 days away from the NBA … and this seemed to have had an impact. However, then came Game 6. It seemed he came back to his best – scoring 30 points including 11 on 5 shots in the first quarter. 

With or without Thompson at his best, this was never going to be an easy one. The Warriors started out the Conference Finals strong with a 3-0 game lead and the Mavericks have had to come out from the back foot, with a lot of pressure on them from the get-go. The Warriors certainly started out as the favourites in the finals, and it looks as though the NBA finals is just a  whisper away…

The Finals

So, These top four teams are the ones to make it to the finals – and all have had some incredible performances to get there. The great thing about NBA betting is that any single thing can happen right until the last minute – a team can lead the series 3-0 and then end up losing 4-3. Although it seems GSW is a shoe in right now, It’s really not over until the fat lady sings and that’s the beauty of the sport. The teams will make sure that they go into every game giving it everything – and, as NBA bettors, this makes it even more exciting.