NBA conference finals predictions: elder statesmen Warriors primed for title charge

It’s entirely possible that nothing in the upcoming conference finals will match the thrills of the second round of this postseason, which was filled with young, talented teams desperately fighting for their playoff lives. Indeed, Sunday provided us with not one but two Game 7s. It wouldn’t be surprising if both these series go the distance too. Here’s how things could shake out.

Eastern Conference finals (Game 1: Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat. Tuesday, 8.30pm EST)

What the Miami Heat need to do: Win the battle of the three-pointers. When the Celtics stumbled during their seven-game series against the Bucks, it was primarily because their shooters were struggling to hit from beyond the arc. The Miami defense is capable of clamping down around the rim, meaning Boston’s shooters will need to stay hot. After all, bad shooting begets bad shooting, and this is a young Boston team who have shown they can get rattled.

What the Boston Celtics need to do: Take a page from Kendrick Lamar: Stay humble. As we saw in Game 5 against the Bucks – when Boston blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead and an opportunity to put the series on ice early – the Celtics have had a season-long issue with snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by settling on lazy shots and concentrating on the clock, rather than their opponents, late in games. How much Boston have learned from that second round could determine whether they beat the Heat.

Key player: Bam Adebayo, center, Miami Heat. After his star-making turn in the conference semifinals, it would be tempting to give this to Boston’s Jayson Tatum. But we’ll take this opportunity to praise the key cog of Miami’s punishing defense. When Adebayo was left off the list of finalists for Defensive Player