The conference semifinals get started with Game 1 between the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs and the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, which means it's time to reveal staff predictions for the best-of-seven series. Before we reveal our picks, let's go back to the first-round predictions to see who was right and wrong when picking between the Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. I picked the Wolves in five, while Will Ragatz and Jonathan Harrison had the Wolves advancing in six and seven games, respectively. Tony Liebert was the odd man out, picking the Nuggets to win the series. Joe Nelson: Wolves in 6 The Spurs might win the next five NBA titles, but I firmly believe a team has to take its playoff lumps before winning the 'ship. OKC had to learn from losing to the Mavericks in the conference semifinals in 2024, and then they whipped everybody in 2025. It's just a fact of life in the NBA that no one enters the playoff arena and is crowned king right away.…