There are times when the NBA playoffs can seem…predictable. Usually there are no more than a handful of teams that look to be title contenders, and one of them normally take the championship home.
This year, there were three teams that many expected to win the 2025 NBA Finals. Those squads are the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, and (to a lesser extent) Cleveland Cavaliers. Those three teams are now a combined 0-4 in the conference semifinals. As a matter of fact, the road team has started the conference semifinals 5-0.
‘Road’court Advantage In The NBA’s Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference Semifinals
The Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Denver Nuggets entered the conference semifinals as huge underdogs. While there is a lot of work still needed to be done by all of them, they are all currently up early in their playoff matchups.
The first Game 2 of the conference semifinals took place on Tuesday between the Pacers and Cavaliers. Despite being rather shorthanded (missing Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter), Cleveland controlled most of the game. They were up 20 on a couple different occasions, and leading by 14 entering the fourth quarter.
Due to a cavalcade of mistakes, the Cavaliers are now down 2-0. A three-pointer by Tyrese Halliburton with 1.1 seconds remaining gave Indiana a one-point win. Costly turnovers and allowing an offensive rebound after a free throw miss, all in the last minute, put Cleveland in an 0-2 hole.
Meanwhile, the Knicks found themselves down 20 against the Celtics more than halfway through the third quarter. With Boston missing an NBA playoff record 45 three-pointers, New York chipped away at the lead and sent the game into overtime. Heroics from Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and others, gave the Knicks a huge upset victory in Game 1.
Western Conference Semifinals
The Thunder had the best regular season point differential in NBA history. They made quick work of the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round via a sweep. They still find themselves in an 0-1 hole against the Nuggets.
Much like Cleveland in Game 2, OKC made countless mistakes at the end of their outing. Two missed free throws by Chet Holmgren, followed by an Aaron Gordon three-pointer, gave Denver a two-point win.
The other series saw the Minnesota Timberwolves as slight favorites over the Golden State Warriors. So the road team, Golden State, taking Game 1 wasn’t a huge upset. Still, Minnesota has to be disappointed they didn’t win the opener when Stephen Curry left in the first half with a hamstring injury.
Will Road Team Success In Conference Semifinals Continue?
Both the Knicks and Nuggets are large underdogs to go up 2-0 with their Game 2 contests taking place on Wednesday night. New York plays first, so they will look to extend the stretch of road teams winning in the conference finals.
Game 2 between the Timberwolves and Warriors takes place on Thursday. The Pacers/Cavaliers series moves to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday.
Photo credit: © David Richard-Imagn Images
