Raise your hand if you predicted the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, and Minnesota Timberwolves as three of the last four teams standing.
Repeating is difficult, and after leading by 20 points in the second half of Game 7 on Sunday, the Denver Nuggets have failed to reach the conference finals for the sixth consecutive year. Instead, the Wolves are making their first trip in 20 years. On the other side of the bracket, the Indiana Pacers advanced from the sixth seed to face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics are here for the sixth time in the last eight years, and they remain at the top of the Power Rankings.
The Celtics have undoubtedly had the smoothest path to the conference finals, especially because Jimmy Butler missed the whole first round and Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games of the conference semifinals. However, they have been more dominant in the playoffs (plus-12.8 per 100 possessions) than during the regular season (plus-11.7).
Three takeaways.
They are 8-0 when leading by double digits and 0-2 when down by double digits. Only one of their ten games (Game 4 in Cleveland) has been decided by five points in the final five minutes, 
They lead the playoffs in field goal percentage in the paint (61.7%), but rank worst in the percentage of shots made in the paint (41%, down from a league-low 43% in the regular season). They’ve been missing Kristaps Porzingis (third on the team in both total shots and points in the paint during the regular season), and he’ll most likely be out for at least the first two games of the conference finals.
They’ve been the greatest defensive rebounding squad in the playoffs, collecting 80.5% of available defensive boards in ten games. The Pacers aren’t as ferocious an offensive rebounding club as the Knicks, but Isaiah Jackson will get after it. Indy has retained 40.6% of available offensive boards.
