The Houston Rockets (65-17) had the best win-loss record, nERD (72.2), margin of victory (8.48), and offensive rating (114.7) in the entire NBA this season, so you can expect our projections to favor them pretty highly in just about any series. The defending champion Golden State Warriors are still the team to beat this postseason until proven otherwise, but for now, the road to the NBA Finals goes through Houston in the Western Conference.

The Minnesota Timberwolves (47-35), their first-round opponent, are not your typical 8 seed, but even their ninth-ranked nERD (57.5) isn't enough to make them feel like a legitimate threat to topple the Association's top team in Round 1.