Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City — three cities that seemed slated to be in the NBA conference finals at the start of the playoffs.

But to many people’s surprise, the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, and the number one team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, were eliminated before then — and DePaul students are no exception to this shock. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder were the only one of the three to make the conference finals. They are joined by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. 

Junior Lauren Iype started her reaction to the playoffs with three words.

“Excited, hopeful and hopeless,’’ Iype said. 

She is not the only one who has been surprised by the results. Freshman Nick Nussbaum expected the conference finals to be the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Los Angeles Clippers and the Celtics versus the Cavaliers. 

“I was way off,’’ Nussbaum said. 

The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 64-18 record. They seemed to be an offensive and defensive force with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley — the Defensive Player of the Year — all averaging double figures in the regular season. 

The Cavaliers, however, faced injuries in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pacers with Garland missing the first two games, and De’Andre Hunter and Mobley missing Game 2.

Even though they were healthy for the final three games, the Cavaliers still lost the series 4-1, shooting just 29.4% from three throughout the five games.

“I was really disappointed by the Cavaliers-Pacers series,’’ Nussbaum said. “To see them (the Cavaliers) crumble in the second round was a huge letdown.”

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton — who was voted most overrated by NBA players — scored 31 points to seal the series victory in the fifth game.

“Tyrese Haliburton’s performances in these playoffs have been legacy-defining,’’ Nussbaum said. 

The Pacers also had six players average over 11 points per game in the series, 42.1% shooting from three, and excellent defense, forcing the Cavaliers into 22 turnovers to take the 3-1 series lead.

“It was apparent from the first win that they (the Pacers) were a better working team than the Cavaliers based on their gameplay and decision-making,’’ Iype said.

Meanwhile, freshman Nathan Kowalski still had hope for the Cavaliers despite facing a 2-0 deficit in the series.

“I thought the Cavs could win in seven games based on Mobley, Garland and Hunter’s health for the rest of the series,’’ Kowalski said. “After they got destroyed in Game 4, I knew the series was over.’’ 

But freshman EJ Maggitt was not surprised by the Pacers series win. 

“Indiana is a sleeper team, with Tyrese at the point, (Pascal) Siakam at forward and Myles Turner at center with core pieces surrounding them,’’ Maggitt said. 

And the Celtics — like the Cavaliers — suffered a second-round exit, losing to the Knicks 4-2. This was a surprise considering they maintained key players from the 2024 championship, although they lost Jayson Tatum to a torn achilles in Game 4.  

“Up until Tatum’s injury the Celtics were in firm control of almost every game of the series and blew it in the fourth quarter,’’ Kowalski said. “Had he not gotten hurt, they would’ve won in seven games.’’

The Celtics were 10th in fourth-quarter points per game based on statistics from all 16 playoff teams. The Knicks, meanwhile, were fourth with Jalen Brunson taking over, being second in fourth-quarter points per game in the playoffs with 9.5.

“Brunson has shown us time and time again he can be that guy for the Knicks,’’ Maggitt said. 

Maggitt also noticed the contributions of Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, while Nussbaum focused on their play style, noting that they “play their starters into the ground.’’

On the West Coast, the Thunder avoided elimination by the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 35 points and Jalen Williams scoring 24. The team also forced the Nuggets into 23 turnovers for 37 points. 

“The Thunder brought the game home,’’ Iype said. “I noticed that the Thunder were playing more cohesively as a team and their defense was top-notch.’’

Nussbaum thinks that “their roster depth is something to be feared which can lead them to the championship,’’ and Maggitt agrees about the team being talented.

“Shai is phenomenal, being so consistent in his ability to control the floor, hit tough shots and be the number one guy for the Thunder,’’ Maggitt said.

As for the Timberwolves, they defeated the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors to secure their Western Conference Finals berth — their second in a row. 

Anthony Edwards — Ant for short — has averaged 26.5 points per game in the playoffs and Julius Randle has averaged 23.9 points per game. 

“Randle has shown up and balled out. Ant is that guy for a reason and has been showing out and proving he is the face of the league,’’ Maggitt said.

Nussbaum even sees a bit of Michael Jordan in Edwards. 

“His attitude towards how he is perceived is very Jordan-esque, and to witness even a little bit of what Jordan was like is super cool,’’ Nussbaum said.

Now with the Timberwolves, Pacers, Knicks and Thunder in the playoffs, the league faces a new era. The first two have never won an NBA championship, the Knicks last won in 1973 and the Thunder won as the Seattle Supersonics in 1979. 

Either Edwards, Haliburton, Brunson or Gilgeous-Alexander will win their first ring. The conference finals will also not feature players like LeBron James or Stephen Curry, which Maggitt noticed.

“I think the NBA is changing and all the players we used to watch like Bron and Steph are getting older, and the younger guys are taking over,’’ Maggitt said.

And this has brought excitement to fans.

“There will always be people saying that the league is dying but you really gotta watch it to know the league is doing just fine,’’ Nussbaum said. 

Iype also echoed high praise. 

“The next generation of basketball seems like it’s upon us,’’ Iype said.

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