Ranking the four possible 2024 NBA Finals matchups – NBC10 Philadelphia

Four teams are four wins away from having a shot at glory.

The top-seeded Boston Celtics were the first team to reach the conference finals after eliminating the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.

Then came the West’s No. 5 Dallas Mavericks, who defeated the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in six games.

Then a pair of game 7s decided the bottom two teams. The No. 6 Indiana Pacers first defeated the No. 2 New York Knicks before the No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves staged a tremendous comeback to overtake the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the second seed.

So which matchup of the possible four should manifest for the 2024 NBA Finals? Let’s rank them from least to most intriguing:

4. Indiana Pacers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

No, the two lowest ranked units do not form the worst possible matchup. If Indiana managed to surprise Boston, it would have to face another elite defense in Minnesota. The Timberwolves ranked first in defensive rating in the regular season and have exemplified why in the playoffs, finally defeating Nikola Jokic and company.

It would take a valiant effort from Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, among others, to lose four games good enough to win a series over Minnesota without additional offensive production from Bennedict Mathurin. Minnesota, meanwhile, would have the best quality in this series with Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert leading the way.

3. Indiana Pacers vs. Dallas Mavericks

Things would get a little closer for Indiana if they faced Dallas in the finals. Indiana won both regular season matchups by lopsided scores, the first being 133-111 on February 25 and the second 137-120 on March 5. But it would be more interesting to see how things develop now that both teams are a little different since then.

From Dallas’ perspective, Luka Doncic finally has a stronger supporting cast at his side with Dereck Lively II, PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr., among other names not counting Kyrie Irving. Both teams have stars who can trade blows, while Indiana has more role players who can get theirs. It could go either direction, although what’s missing is the overall quality.

2. Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks

There’s no doubt that the Celtics are the best team left given their regular-season form and how they’ve dispatched teams in short playoff series, so they occupy spots in the top two possible matchups. It would be the glamorous combination of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, if healthy, against Doncic, Irving and company.

The Celtics would likely be the favorites in this scenario given that they also handily handled Dallas in both regular-season battles, although the collective star power here is better than what an Indiana series could provide, respectively.

1. Boston Celtics vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

The best possible matchup would have to be Boston and Minnesota. With Jokic and the Nuggets out, both the Celtics and Timberwolves would battle with the league’s best defenses led by Edwards and Tatum as key pieces.

Boston has the best top-tier talent, while Minnesota is deeper thanks to having players like Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil-Alexander Walker and more. This one could go either way too, but the quality of both teams makes it more fascinating, especially since the Timberwolves would be the toughest playoff series for the Celtics.

Can the Celtics extinguish Minnesota’s growing flame for the 18th banner or can the Wolves win their first NBA championship against the league’s most star-studded team? It is a compelling watch.