It's that time again: Make your NBA conference finals predictions here

Let's do this as a community: Who advances from the NBA's Final Four matchups ... Oklahoma City/Minnesota and New York/Indiana?

You have to laugh at yourself sometimes.

You make a loud vow, privately and publicly, that you will not forget to publish a community-wide call for all of us to register our playoff predictions in digital ink before every round of the NBA's 2024-25 postseason.

Then you forget to actually do it before each of the first two rounds.

It's the personification of aging badly and I failed to prevent it from happening even though I was sure that I wouldn't make that gaffe this spring … as I must concede happened once or twice in the past.

Dangit.

The only solace is that I caught myself before Round 3 began. The Indiana Pacers haven't played a game since last Tuesday. The Minnesota Timberwolves haven't played since last Wednesday. The extended respite for half of the conference finals field apparently sparked something, at last, to remind me that I fumbled the assignment twice already.

Here's to doing better for the rest of these playoffs. Game 1 of the Western Conference finals gets this round started later tonight in Oklahoma City. Game 2 of the East Finals is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Who advances from the Final Four?

Graphic from the @NBAcrazystats Twitter feed.

A full Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza with Numbers Game and all the other usual accessories will return next week. All I ask, on this Newsletter Tuesday, is that you register your official conference finals picks in the comment section below.

My picks for the NBA's Final Four:

Pacers in 6

Timberwolves in 6

I'm going with the upset in both conferences.

I think Jalen Brunson is the best player still alive in the East but the Pacers, on this scorecard, have the more well-rounded team.

In the West? The Thunder lost me to a degree with their struggles against Nikola Jokić and Co. because Jokić, in truth, really couldn't lean on a dependable Co. The Wolves are right there with the Pacers at the top of this's season Most Underrated Team list.

How do you see it? Let us know in the comment section.

(Please weigh in immediately! I really should lock this file and close the comment section before Game 1 of Wolves at Thunder tips off but … we'll see how vigilant I actually am.)

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