We've made it to the Conference Finals.

We have four teams left in the NBA and four teams left in the NHL. One series away from the Finals. For some of these teams, just being here is the accomplishment. For others, anything less than a Finals appearance is a massive disappointment.

With each series already underway, this weekend's games are massive for momentum and swinging things in a team's direction.

Here's your weekend preview starting with what matters most.

The stakes: This is one of the most highly anticipated playoff matchups we’ve had in years and so far this series hasn’t disappointed. After dropping Game 1 in double overtime to a Wembanyama performance that will be remembered for years to come (41 points, 24 rebounds), OKC bounced back and reminded everyone why they went 68-14 in the regular season. They evened the series 1-1 and proved they can adapt to a Spurs team that has gone 5-1 against them this season.

What to watch for: Can OKC contain Wembanyama at all? Game 1 was a historic performance, 41 points and 24 rebounds, the youngest player ever to put up a 40/20 in a playoff game. Game 2 the Thunder adjusted and OKC's defense forced him into tougher shots. The question is whether that adjustment travels to San Antonio or whether Wemby gets back to Game 1 form in front of his home crowd. If it's the latter, the Thunder will have an uphill battle to climb.

What Sunday’s Game 4 means: As the Spurs head home for back-to-back games with a 1-1 series, all the pressure will be on the Thunder to win at least one game in San Antonio. If they fail to do so they’ll be facing a 3-1 deficit that only 15 teams in NBA history have been able to come back from (4% success rate). If the Thunder steal Game 3 and go up 2-1, Game 4 on Sunday becomes pivotal for the Spurs to win and even the series with the momentum back in OKC's hands.

The Betting Angle [Powered by WagerXpert]: Spurs -1.5. With San Antonio coming home as short favorites, expect them to regroup and protect home court. They went 32-8 at home this season and covered the spread in nearly 60% of those games. Coming off a loss, and behind their home crowd, against a team they’ve consistently beaten all year, the Spurs should get this one.

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The stakes: The Knicks haven’t made the NBA Finals since 1999 and opened as big favorites to advance to the next round. With other Eastern Conference powerhouses exiting early in this year’s playoffs, this may be the Knicks’ best chance at a Finals appearance for the foreseeable future.

That all was up in the air Tuesday night as Cleveland built a lead as large as 22 points in the second half of Game 1 and were on the brink of stealing home court advantage. And then everything changed. The Knicks completed the second-largest comeback in NBA playoff history with Jalen Brunson taking over down the stretch.

Now Cleveland heads into Game 2 carrying the kind of psychological weight that has ended playoff runs before, and the Knicks are riding a wave of belief and confidence. Heading into the rest of the series the question will be whether the Cavaliers can recover from this historic loss and if they have any gas left in the tank coming off two series that went all 7 games.

What to watch for: Can the Cavaliers reset and contain Jalen Brunson? In order for the Cavaliers to win, they’ll need to find a way to contain Jalen Brunson down the stretch. Brunson went 7-11 shooting when guarded by James Harden and Knicks coach, Mike Brown, even said publicly after the game their strategy was to attack him.

If the Cavs want to win this series, it will have to start with slowing down Brunson and having their core of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Evan Mobley execute for the full game.

What Saturday’s Game 3 means: Game 3 is where this series leaves Madison Square Garden and heads to Cleveland. If the Knicks win Game 2 and head to Cleveland up 2-0, the Cavs would essentially be playing for their season at home knowing they’ll need to win both games to have a chance to win this series. The Cavs have been known to play better at home, so they’ll need to regroup and bounce back in front of their home crowd.

The Betting Angle [Powered by WagerXpert]: Knicks -6.5 is the play for this game. We’re riding the Knicks to win comfortably in Game 2 at home and cover the spread. They came out slow and played poor basketball for 3 quarters of Game 1 and then woke up in the fourth quarter. Riding that momentum into Game 2, expect them to start strong and win comfortably against a demoralized Cavaliers team.

Golden Knights vs. Avalanche | Game 2 & 3: These are two teams that have each won a Stanley Cup this decade. Colorado won in 2022 and Vegas won in 2023. The Avalanche won the President's Trophy as the league's best regular season team and are considered the favorite to win the Cup this year. Their star, Nathan MacKinnon, is playing at an MVP level in the playoffs, one of the many reasons they’ve been so dominant.

They come into this series with real pressure as they are the oldest team left in the postseason, and with an aging roster this dominant anything short of the Cup would be a major disappointment. The Golden Knights won Game 1 so Game 2 turns into a near must-win for Colorado who can’t afford going down 0-2 heading back to Vegas.

Canadiens vs. Hurricanes | Game 1 & 2: The Hurricanes have been rolling sweeping teams in the first two rounds and getting nearly two weeks of rest before Game 1 of this series.

Meanwhile, Montreal has played the longest possible postseason path with back-to-back Game 7s, including a 3-2 overtime win in Buffalo to even get here. Carolina is 1-12 over their last three Conference Finals appearances, and now they have to shake off 12 days of rust against a Canadiens team that went 3-0 against them in the regular season.

Must-watch:

Worth tuning in:

3. Thunder vs. Spurs, Game 3 (Friday 8:30pm, NBC) — Can San Antonio take control back at home?

— Backdrop Sports

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