What's new
New posts

2026 NBA Playoffs

O

One

Active member
2026 NBA Playoffs

But first, the play-in

2026 NBA Play-In

Eastern Conference

DateHomeAwayResult
April 15, 2026(7) Philadelphia 76ers(8) Orlando Magic109-97
April 14, 2026(9) Charlotte Hornets(10) Miami Heat127-126


DateHomeAwayResult
April 17, 2026(8) Orlando Magic(9) Charlotte Hornets121-90


Western Conference

DateHomeAwayResult
April 14, 2026(7) Phoenix Suns(8) Portland Trail Blazers110-114
April 15, 2026(9) Los Angeles Clippers(10) Golden State Warriors126-121


DateHomeAwayResult
April 17, 2026(7) Phoenix Suns(10) Golden State Warriors111-96


The Portland Trail Blazers advance, and will be the 7th seed in the playoffs, playing against the San Antonio Spurs
The Philadelphia 76ers advance, and will be the 7th seed in the playoffs, playing against the Boston Celtics

The Orlando Magic advance, and will be the 8th seed in the playoffs, playing against the Detroit Pistons
The Phoenix Suns advance, and will be the 8th seed in the playoffs, playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder



Playoffs

Round 1

Eastern Conference

Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 19, 2026Detroit PistonsOrlando Magic101-1120-1
2April 22, 2026Detroit PistonsOrlando Magic
3April 25, 2026Orlando MagicDetroit Pistons
4April 27, 2026Orlando MagicDetroit Pistons
5 (If Necessary)April 29, 2026Detroit PistonsOrlando Magic
6 (If Necessary)May 1, 2026Orlando MagicDetroit Pistons
7 (If Necessary)May 3, 2026Detroit PistonsOrlando Magic


Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 19, 2026Boston CelticsPhiladelphia 76ers123-911-0
2April 21, 2026Boston CelticsPhiladelphia 76ers
3April 24, 2026Philadelphia 76ersBoston Celtics
4April 26, 2026Philadelphia 76ersBoston Celtics
5 (If Necessary)April 28, 2026Boston CelticsPhiladelphia 76ers
6 (If Necessary)April 30, 2026Philadelphia 76ersBoston Celtics
7 (If Necessary)May 2, 2026Boston CelticsPhiladelphia 76ers


New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 18, 2026New York KnicksAtlanta Hawks113-1021-0
2April 20, 2026New York KnicksAtlanta Hawks
3April 23, 2026Atlanta HawksNew York Knicks
4April 25, 2026Atlanta HawksNew York Knicks
5 (If Necessary)April 28, 2026New York KnicksAtlanta Hawks
6 (If Necessary)April 30, 2026Atlanta HawksNew York Knicks
7 (If Necessary)May 2, 2026New York KnicksAtlanta Hawks


Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 18, 2026Cleveland CavaliersToronto Raptors126-1131-0
2April 20, 2026Cleveland CavaliersToronto Raptors
3April 23, 2026Toronto RaptorsCleveland Cavaliers
4April 26, 2026Toronto RaptorsCleveland Cavaliers
5 (If Necessary)April 29, 2026Cleveland CavaliersToronto Raptors
6 (If Necessary)May 1, 2026Toronto RaptorsCleveland Cavaliers
7 (If Necessary)May 3, 2026Cleveland CavaliersToronto Raptors


Western Conference

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 19, 2026Oklahoma City ThunderPhoenix Suns119-841-0
2April 22, 2026Oklahoma City ThunderPhoenix Suns
3April 25, 2026Phoenix SunsOklahoma City Thunder
4April 27, 2026Phoenix SunsOklahoma City Thunder
5 (If Necessary)April 29, 2026Oklahoma City ThunderPhoenix Suns
6 (If Necessary)May 1, 2026Phoenix SunsOklahoma City Thunder
7 (If Necessary)May 3, 2026Oklahoma City ThunderPhoenix Suns


San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 19, 2026San Antonio SpursPortland Trail Blazers111-981-0
2April 21, 2026San Antonio SpursPortland Trail Blazers
3April 24, 2026Portland Trail BlazersSan Antonio Spurs
4April 26, 2026Portland Trail BlazersSan Antonio Spurs
5 (If Necessary)April 28, 2026San Antonio SpursPortland Trail Blazers
6 (If Necessary)April 30, 2026Portland Trail BlazersSan Antonio Spurs
7 (If Necessary)May 2, 2026San Antonio SpursPortland Trail Blazers


Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 18, 2026Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves116-1051-0
2April 20, 2026Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
3April 23, 2026Minnesota TimberwolvesDenver Nuggets
4April 25, 2026Minnesota TimberwolvesDenver Nuggets
5 (If Necessary)April 27, 2026Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
6 (If Necessary)April 30, 2026Minnesota TimberwolvesDenver Nuggets
7 (If Necessary)May 2, 2026Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves


Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets

GameDateHomeAwayResultStatus
1April 18, 2026Los Angeles LakersHouston Rockets107-981-0
2April 21, 2026Los Angeles LakersHouston Rockets
3April 24, 2026Houston RocketsLos Angeles Lakers
4April 26, 2026Houston RocketsLos Angeles Lakers
5 (If Necessary)April 29, 2026Los Angeles LakersHouston Rockets
6 (If Necessary)May 1, 2026Houston RocketsLos Angeles Lakers
7 (If Necessary)May 3, 2026Los Angeles LakersHouston Rockets
 
O

One

Active member
At a glance, the western conference looks pretty cut and dry as far as player matchups go. It should still be interesting, given that it's the playoffs, but for most of these series', there's a clear choice of team in terms of talent. OKC vs. Phoenix, San Antonio vs. Portland, Houston vs. LA. What should be interesting in the west is the coaching matchups. There's a lot of newer era coaches here. Not many guys that have 15, 20, 30+ years of coaching experience at this level. Chris Finch is the elder statesman here with about 15 years of experience in the league (10 of those as an assistant). In the OKC/Phoenix series it'll be Mark Daigneault vs. Jordan Ott. In San Antonio/Portland, it'll be Mitch Johnson vs. Tiago Splitter. In Denver/Minnesota it's David Adelman and Chris Finch. And in LA/Houston it's JJ Redick and Ime Udoka. So yes, you do have stars, and my guess is that those stars will look good in these series' given some of these matchup imbalances, but getting down into the weeds of these games, watch for the strategies that these coaches are coming up with and countering each other with.

In the eastern conference, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this Knicks/Hawks series actually plays out. Both teams have been a little confusing to evaluate throughout the season. The Knicks probably on a different tier of expectations than the Hawks. The Hawks traded away former franchise player Trae Young and managed to pull off a couple of impressive wins in March. They pose certain matchup concerns for the Knicks, particularly in the backcourt with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels on defense. Jalen Johnson will see his first playoff series. They also acquired Jonathan Kuminga. Gabe Vincent is familiar with the Knicks in a playoff setting. Okongwu has a way of needling and baiting opponents at times. It'll be interesting to see how he matches up with KAT. Brunson and Daniels have some history. Outside of Aaron Nesmith and now Ausar Thompson, you could argue that it was Daniels (maybe Caleb Martin and Derrick White also) that started the whole idea of putting bigger wing defenders on Brunson to make things difficult for him. Quinn Snyder has some history with Brunson having had his Jazz team eliminated from the playoffs by him back when Brunson played for the Mavericks. So yeah, there are a number of things to watch for in this matchup that I'm very much looking forward to.

The other series that I'll be watching closely here is the Pistons/Magic matchup. Whether this ended being the Magic or the Hornets, I think this would've been interesting either way. But with the Magic here, this is shaping up to be a very physical series, and depending on how things go, looking at the kinds of culture that these two times have built or tried to build, this series is one that might actually end up creating a rivalry. Now, if it's a sweep, then of course there's nothing really there. But if it's competitive in the way that I think it could be, this has the makings of a potential rivalry. The physicality especially, and the fact that you have players on both teams that are needlers and pokers. Looking at this through the lens of the Knicks, at the beginning of the season, the Magic were posing some of the same challenges to the Knicks that the Pistons ended up posing. They'd played physically, they tried to bother you, get under your skin a little bit, and they won the first two games against the Knicks playing that way, convincingly. They lost their way at some point during the season (in part, due to injuries), but if they're able to recapture that energy and that brand of basketball in this series, then yeah this can be a tough mano a mano matchup.

Celtics/Sixers could be fun just based on the clash of styles. You have a very athletic backcourt for the Sixers with Maxey and Edgecomb, and then you have a more cerebral, execution oriented team in the Celtics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top