Experts' picks: Who will reach the East finals?
Who will be punching a ticket to the conference finals? Our NBA experts make their predictions for Round 2.

























Who will be punching a ticket to the conference finals? Our NBA experts make their predictions for Round 2.
John Havlicek spent all 16 seasons of his NBA career with the Celtics and won eight NBA titles. He was named to the All-Star team 13 times.
Celtics-Bucks Game 1 will be Sunday at 1pm Eastern on ABC.
In what is clearly going to be a daily Marcus Smart update on his movements, he was on an elliptical moving very slowly, and now is again moving very gingerly on the court doing individual shooting drills without jumping.
Brad Stevens says he is hoping Celtics will get the second round schedule today. They, like the fans, still don't know when their series with the Bucks will start.
Zach talks to ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz about Damian Lillard's epic shot, the fallout in Oklahoma City, Sixers-Raptors, Bucks-Celtics, and more.
At Celtics practice today, Marcus Smart is currently jogging on a treadmill. Standing next to him is Celtics President of basketball operations Danny Ainge.
Brian Windhorst, Andrew Han, Kevin Pelton and Nick Friedell discuss the Blazers-Thunder series (1:20), the looming inevitability of a Warriors title (9:30), the Sixers (45:00) and a Windhorst filibuster.
Gordon Hayward returned home to Indiana and scored 20 points to help the Celtics sweep the Pacers.
Gordon Hayward scored 20 points and Marcus Morris started a decisive 3-point flurry late in the fourth quarter Sunday to give the Boston Celtics a series-clinching 110-106 victory at Indiana.
Boston completes a sweep of the Pacers, winning 110-106 in Game 4 here in Indianapolis. The Celtics move on to face the Milwaukee Bucks (barring an all-time collapse in their series, which they lead 3-0) next weekend.
Over the past two games, the Celtics have outscored the Pacers 34-18 and outshot then 58% to 26% in the final six minutes. We'll see if that trend holds today.
The fact Kyrie Irving and Al Horford are a combined 4-for-21 and the Celtics only trail 60-56 is a testament to just how limited the Pacers are offensively.
Pacers lead 49-47 at halftime here in Indy. Pacers has another clunker offensively, shooting 39 percent, but lead thanks to the Celtics committing 11 turnovers and going 3-15 themselves from 3-point range.
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 58 | 24 | .707 | - | W2 |
| Philadelphia | 51 | 31 | .622 | 7 | W1 |
| Boston | 49 | 33 | .598 | 9 | W1 |
| Brooklyn | 42 | 40 | .512 | 16 | W3 |
| New York | 17 | 65 | .207 | 41 | L1 |
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(27) | Robert Williams | PF | Texas A&M |
| YEAR | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 49 | 33 | .598 |
| 2017-18 | 55 | 27 | .671 |
| 2016-17 | 53 | 29 | .646 |
| 2015-16 | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 2014-15 | 40 | 42 | .488 |
