{"id":11104,"date":"2025-05-05T17:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T17:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/11104\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T17:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T17:08:09","slug":"sga-vs-murray-headlines-conference-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/11104\/","title":{"rendered":"SGA vs. Murray headlines Conference Semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs is behind us as the Conference Semifinals officially began on Sunday night in Cleveland. A dozen former Kentucky players were on an active roster going into round one<\/a>, but only six remain as we dive headfirst into round two. Of those six Wildcats, four will play major roles for their respective teams. <\/p>\n

Here is your BBNBA Playoff update ahead of the Conference Semifinals. <\/p>\n

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Indiana Pacers<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be quick with this series (mainly because I don\u2019t want to talk about my Cavaliers losing in Game 1). We only have one former Kentucky player on either of these teams, Isaiah Jackson<\/a> of the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately, Jackson has been out since early November with a torn right Achilles. The Pacers could not miss from deep (19-36) in their Game 1 win, while Cleveland\u2019s starting guard Darius Garland is dealing with a toe injury that might be worse than expected. It couldn\u2019t have gone worse for the Cavs in the series opener. <\/p>\n

Game 1:\u00a0Pacers 121, Cavaliers 112<\/a><\/p>\n

Game 2:\u00a0Pacers at Cavaliers (Tue. May 6, 7 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 3:\u00a0Cavaliers at Pacers (Fri. May 9, 7:30 ET, ESPN)<\/p>\n

Game 4:\u00a0Cavaliers at Pacers (Sun. May 11, 8 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 5:\u00a0Pacers at Cavaliers (Tue. May 13, TBD, TNT)*<\/p>\n

Game 6:\u00a0Cavaliers at Pacers (Thu. May 15, TBD)*<\/p>\n

Game 7:\u00a0Pacers at Cavaliers (Sun. May 18, TBD)*<\/p>\n

KSR\u2019s prediction: Cavaliers in 7<\/p>\n

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) New York Knicks<\/p>\n

The Boston Celtics will be heavily favored to win this series, but Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> has the chance to cement his status as one of the best big men in the world. Towns had an up-and-down first round against the Detroit Pistons, but finished with solid all-around numbers: 19.7 points and 10 rebounds per outing on shooting splits of 48.9\/48\/90. That being said, KAT had two games with just 10 points \u2014 that can\u2019t happen in any game against Boston. The Celtics will look to target Towns on defense whenever possible. How he holds his own on that end of the floor could end up being one of the deciding factors of the series. <\/p>\n

Game 1:\u00a0Knicks at Celtics (Mon. May 5, 7 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 2:\u00a0Knicks at Celtics (Wed. May 7, 7 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 3:\u00a0Celtics at Knicks (Sat. May 10, TBD, ABC)<\/p>\n

Game 4:\u00a0Celtics at Knicks (Mon. May 12, TBD, ESPN)<\/p>\n

Game 5:\u00a0Knicks at Celtics (Wed. May 14, TBD, TNT)*<\/p>\n

Game 6:\u00a0Celtics at Knicks (Fri. May 16, TBD, ESPN)*<\/p>\n

Game 7:\u00a0Knicks at Celtics (Mon. May 19, 8 ET, TNT)*<\/p>\n

KSR\u2019s prediction: Celtics in 5<\/p>\n

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (4) Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a Kentucky fan, this is the series for you. Three former Wildcats will take the floor in this highly anticipated series between the league\u2019s two MVP frontrunners. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, who many expect to win MVP, and Cason Wallace<\/a> will lead the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder into battle against Jamal Murray<\/a>, Nikola Jokic (the projected MVP runner-up), and the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC swept the Memphis Grizzlies in round one, but SGA only played up to his standards in Game 4\u2019s closeout. He shot just 40.2 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep, although he still managed 27.8 points per outing. The Thunder can\u2019t afford three below-average performances from the MVP favorite in round two. He\u2019ll be helped in the backcourt by the defensive-minded Wallace, who averaged four points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 20.5 minutes per game against Memphis. <\/p>\n

As for Murray, nothing came easily in the Nuggets\u2019 seven-game series win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He was vintage Playoff Jamal Murray in a Game 5 win with 43 points, but failed to score more than 24 points in any of the other six games. The former \u2018Cat posted per-game averages of 22.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 42 minutes against the Clippers on splits of 48.1\/40.4\/89.5. We know Jokic will play well, but if Denver wants any chance of winning this series, Murray has to produce even more. <\/p>\n

Game 1:\u00a0Nuggets at Thunder (Mon. May 5, 9:30 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 2:\u00a0Nuggets at Thunder (Wed. May 7, 9:30 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 3:\u00a0Thunder at Nuggets (Fri. May 9, 10 ET, ESPN)<\/p>\n

Game 4:\u00a0Thunder at Nuggets (Sun. May 11, 3:30 ET, ABC)<\/p>\n

Game 5:\u00a0Nuggets at Thunder (Tue. May 13, TBD, TNT)*<\/p>\n

Game 6:\u00a0Thunder at Nuggets (Thu. May 15, TBD, ESPN)*<\/p>\n

Game 7:\u00a0Nuggets at Thunder (Sun. May 18, TBD, TBD)*<\/p>\n

KSR\u2019s prediction: Thunder in 6<\/p>\n

(6) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (7) Golden State Warriors<\/p>\n

After dispatching the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, the Minnesota Timberwolves now have to take on a few more future Hall of Famers on the Golden State Warriors. But if Julius Randle<\/a> continues to play at this level \u2014 easily the best stretch of postseason ball in his career \u2014 then the Wolves should be in good shape. Randle scored 22 or more points in four of five games against the Lakers, finishing with averages of 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 38 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-9 forward shot 48.1 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from deep, and 83.9 percent from the line. Another series like that against the Warriors could have Minnesota in the Conference Finals for the second straight year.<\/p>\n

As for the Warriors, Kevin Knox<\/a> is still roaming around the sidelines. Don\u2019t expect him to play real minutes, though \u2014 Knox saw 24 combined minutes in three games played during the Warriors\u2019 seven-game series against the Houston Rockets. He poured in 14 points during Game 5, which saw Golden State give up midway through the third quarter. But he\u2019s not expected to be a primary rotation piece in this series. <\/p>\n

Game 1:\u00a0Warriors vs. Wolves (Tue. May 6, 9:30 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 2:\u00a0Warriors vs. Wolves (Thu. May 8, 8:30 ET, TNT)<\/p>\n

Game 3:\u00a0Wolves vs. Warriors (Sat. May 10, 8:30 ET, ABC)<\/p>\n

Game 4:\u00a0Wolves vs. Warriors (Mon. May 12, 10 ET, ESPN)<\/p>\n

Game 5:\u00a0Warriors vs. Wolves (Wed. May 14, TBD, TNT)* <\/p>\n

Game 6:\u00a0Wolves vs. Warriors (Sun. May 18, TBD, TBD)*<\/p>\n

Game 7:\u00a0Warriors vs. Wolves (Tue. May 20, 8:30 ET, ESPN)*<\/p>\n

KSR\u2019s prediction: Timberwolves in 6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs is behind us as the Conference Semifinals officially began on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,4724,1664,1665,4725,6,11,1667],"class_list":{"0":"post-11104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cason-wallace-22-richardson","10":"tag-jamal-murray-15-athlete-institute-basketball-academy","11":"tag-julius-randle-13-prestonwood-christian","12":"tag-karl-anthony-towns-14-saint-joseph","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-playoffs","15":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander-17-hamilton-heights-christian-academy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114456331144252631","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}