Chris Redfield (teacher)

“I think the Boston Celtics will rise out of the East. They’re old school, play good defense and good team basketball. Out of the West, I think the Oklahoma City Thunder is the favorite. However, I would love to see the San Antonio  Spurs because of their great team ball. Overall, I hope Boston wins it all, mostly for sentimental reasons.”

Allison Nguyen (student)

“In the West, I think the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Spurs will be meeting. In the East, I think the Philadelphia 76ers will move on to the Western Conference Finals, but it’s really up in the air with the Heat and the Pacers. I think that in the end, it will be the Heat over the Thunder because no one can keep up with them.”

Rajeev Virmani (teacher)

“I think it’s going to be the Miami Heat, even though I don’t like them that much, and the Spurs in the NBA finals. The Thunder are very athletic, however the Spurs have great depth and have a great coach. Spurs are going to win it all because of their defense and experience.”

Gene Yang (student)

“The Heat are going to meet up with the Thunder in the finals, but the Heat are going to win it all. They have three (since only two remain) really good players and the best player in the league LeBron James. Even though the Thunder have Kevin Durant, the Heat can match Shane Battier against him, and he won’t matter.”

Joshua Paley (teacher)

“In the West, I’ll take the Spurs. They pass the ball well, are deep, play good defense and their coach is probably one of the best in the history of the game. I’ll take Miami in the Eastern Conference because of their top-end talent.  It would surprise me if any team from the East won the championship.”

Zoe Zwerling (student)

“I think the Indiana Pacers are going to shock everyone and make it to the NBA Finals. They play with a lot of energy and passion. From the West, the  Spurs will make it and win it all because of their great team basketball, and they’ve done this before.”

—Compiled by Mitch Donat