And then there were four. The San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat remain the only teams left in the NBA playoffs. The Conference Finals began Sunday as the Pacers took on the two-time defending champs, the Miami Heat at Bankers’ Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana for the Eastern Conference Finals. Out West the San Antonio Spurs take on the Oklahoma City Thunder and reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kevin Durant.

 All season long fans anticipated a possible of a Heat-Pacers Conference Final. The Miami Heat will face the Indiana Pacers for the third straight season in the playoffs. The first time, in 2012, the Heat beat the Pacers in six games after Chris Bosh missed a majority of the series with a strained abdominal muscle in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Last year in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, we saw one of the best postseason series in basketball history with the Heat beating Indiana in a long, entertaining seven game series.

 After losing game seven in Miami, Pacers coach Frank Vogel made it a priority for his team to get the number one seed in the Eastern Conference in order to acquire home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference Finals and have a game seven on their home floor.

 The Pacers started the season with the best record in the NBA with a 33-7 record at one point during the season. After the All-Star Break the Pacers finished 23-19 over their last 42 games, but clinched the hallowed number one seed.

 Meanwhile, the Miami Heat after two consecutive NBA Championships are aiming to make a fourth straight NBA Final Appearance in season number four of the LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade era. The Heat scorched out to a 43-14 start, but ended the season on a poor note going 11-14 over their final 25 games. The Heat are off to a hot start to begin the postseason beginning with a record of 8-1.

 On the other side, the Pacers, who had the best home record in the NBA at 35-6, have struggled so far barely beating the eighth seeded Hawks in seven games and the young Washington Wizards in six games. Moreover, the Pacers also have an uncharacteristic 3-4 record at home.

 In Game 1, the Pacers dominated the Heat in a 107-96 victory. The Pacers looked like a strong team again in this contest and began the game with a 7-0 lead never looking back. The Heat played catch-up the entire game and were down 19 points at one point in the third quarter  and could not shred down the deficit enough. The Pacer starters of Paul George, George Hill, Lance Stephenson, David West and Roy Hibbert outscored the Heat’s starters of Mario Chalmers, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Shane Battier 94-70. Paul George led the Pacers with 24 points, four rebounds and seven assists. LeBron James (25 points, 10 rebounds, three assists) and Dwyane Wade (27 points) combined for 52 points in the Game 1 loss.

 Heat fans should not worry because in the Big Three Era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat have lost Game 1 four times and gone onto win the series all four times. I predict that the Miami Heat will comeback and win the series in six games. They always make adjustments when their backs are against the wall, they will get the job done.

The San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder will square off for the Western Conference Championship for the second time in three years. In the 2012 Conference Finals the Spurs went up two games to zero over the Thunder, but the Thunder then went onto win four games in a row and won the series in six games. The Thunder eventually lost in the NBA Finals to the Heat.

 The Spurs are vouching to head on back to the Finals for the second straight year after a magical playoff run that ended in a heartbreaking loss in Game seven of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.

  The Thunder took a big blow in Game six of the Semi-Finals against the Clippers when their big man Serge Ibaka went down with a calf injury. According to the Thunder, he will miss the rest of the postseason due to the injury. Without Ibaka it will be very difficult for the Thunder to beat the Spurs four times. Do not expect the Thunder to go down without a fight. When Russell Westbrook got hurt towards the beginning of the season MVP Kevin Durant went on a tear averaging over 35 points per game and led the Thunder to the best record in the NBA over that span, but this is the playoffs. The Spurs were the best team in the NBA this season with a record of 62-20 and I expect them to extend on their good season and beat the Thunder in six games.