NBA Playoffs 2016: Remaining Schedule, Predictions for Conference Finals

Don’t you just love the unpredictability of NBA playoff basketball?

Both conference-final series have delivered wildly unexpected results over the last four evenings, with the underdog Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder each stealing two mostly convincing wins from the favored Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, respectively. Both favorites need to make some adjustments heading into their next contests to avoid falling behind in their series (the Cavaliers) or getting eliminated entirely (the Warriors).

Let’s review the round’s remaining schedule and then predict the outcome for each matchup.

Predictions for Conference Finals

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors (series tied 2-2)

After the first two games of this series, it was easy to assume the Cavaliers would roll over the Raptors and win in either four or five games. Now, neither of those outcomes is possible after two inspired efforts from the Raptors on their home floor that knotted the matchup at two games apiece.

Moving forward, Toronto should be able to stay competitive if it can continue to defend energetically and receive a positive contribution from Jonas Valanciunas. The Lithuanian center was active for the first time in eight games Monday but didn’t play. The Raptors need to find a way to utilize his excellent low-post offense while not losing the impact of Bismack Biyombo’s stellar rebounding …

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