NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals Predictions

And then there were four …

Western Conference

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Oklahoma City Thunder

Ryan Tartaglia: Spurs over Thunder in 7 -- From leaders to point guards to sixth men, this conference final has every little matchup you love to see. Kevin Durant is clearly on a mission to deliver Oklahoma City its first NBA title but Tim Duncan is clearly motivated to establish himself as one of, if not the greatest power forward the NBA has ever seen. Tony Parker wants to prove he is a top five point guard while Russell Westbrook wants to prove he is the man in Oklahoma City. Then there's Manu Ginobili and James Harden. While James Harden was this year's Sixth Man of the Year, Manu wants to prove his game is as large as his bald spot. All these matchups will be extremely significant, but they won't be the reason for the outcome of this series. This game will be won through the bench and homecourt advantage. It'll take seven long games, but San Antonio will prove that they are the best team in the Western Conference.

Brandon Crosby: Thunder over Spurs in 6 -- Duncan and company look really good but Oklahoma City has too many weapons.

Eric Russo: Spurs over Thunder in 7 -- It's the matchup everyone has been waiting for. It's old vs. new. The Spurs have won 18 straight games dating back to the regular season and are a perfect 8-0 so far in the playoffs. The Thunder have also made quick work of their opponents, to this point, going 8-1 in the playoffs. The Spurs have Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, who have a combined 10 championship rings. The Thunder have Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, who have no championship hardware to their names. But, the Thunder are the future of the Western Conference and have a superstar in the making which won't make it easy on the Spurs. In the end, though, the Spurs will emerge from, what will be, one of the best playoff series in the recent memory and make an attempt at winning their fifth NBA title.

Andy Deossa: Thunder over Spurs in 7 -- At this point stats aren’t important. What is important is experience in the playoffs - which is something the Spurs have a lot of. However, OKC was in this same position last year against Dallas but they weren’t able to advance. So what do they do this year? Sweep the defending champs in the first round and then go on to eliminate the Lakers in the next round. As Eric said, this might be one of the best playoff series in a while but I think the Thunder have the confidence they need to get past San Antonio.

Ethan Hartley: Spurs over Thunder in 7 -- Clash of the extremely good and young with the extremely good and seasoned. Should be a simply heart stopping series with all the tenured clutch players on the court in the same crunch time minutes.

Eastern Conference Finals