2026 NBA Playoffs

[One]

2026 NBA Playoffs

But first, the play-in

2026 NBA Play-In

Eastern Conference

Date	Home	Away	Result
April 15, 2026	(7) Philadelphia 76ers	(8) Orlando Magic	109-97
April 14, 2026	(9) Charlotte Hornets	(10) Miami Heat	127-126

Date	Home	Away	Result
April 17, 2026	(8) Orlando Magic	(9) Charlotte Hornets	121-90

Western Conference

Date	Home	Away	Result
April 14, 2026	(7) Phoenix Suns	(8) Portland Trail Blazers	110-114
April 15, 2026	(9) Los Angeles Clippers	(10) Golden State Warriors	126-121

Date	Home	Away	Result
April 17, 2026	(7) Phoenix Suns	(10) Golden State Warriors	111-96

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

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (DET-ORL)
1	April 19, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic	101-112	0-1
2	April 22, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic	98-83	1-1
3	April 25, 2026	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons	113-105	1-2
4	April 27, 2026	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons	94-88	1-3
5	April 29, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic	116-109	2-3
6	May 1, 2026	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons	79-93	3-3
7	May 3, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic	116-94	4-3

The Detroit Pistons defeat the Orlando Magic 4-3 and advance to the second round


Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (BOS-PHI)
1	April 19, 2026	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers	123-91	1-0
2	April 21, 2026	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers	97-111	1-1
3	April 24, 2026	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics	100-108	2-1
4	April 26, 2026	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics	96-128	3-1
5	April 28, 2026	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers	97-113	3-2
6	April 30, 2026	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics	106-93	3-3
7	May 2, 2026	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers	100-109	3-4

The Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Boston Celtic 4-3 and advance to the second round


New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (NYK-ATL)
1	April 18, 2026	New York Knicks	Atlanta Hawks	113-102	1-0
2	April 20, 2026	New York Knicks	Atlanta Hawks	106-107	1-1
3	April 23, 2026	Atlanta Hawks	New York Knicks	109-108	1-2
4	April 25, 2026	Atlanta Hawks	New York Knicks	98-114	2-2
5	April 28, 2026	New York Knicks	Atlanta Hawks	126-97	3-2
6	April 30, 2026	Atlanta Hawks	New York Knicks	89-140	4-2
7 (If Necessary)	May 2, 2026	New York Knicks	Atlanta Hawks

The New York Knicks defeat the Atlanta Hawks 4-2 and advance to the second round


Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (CLE-TOR)
1	April 18, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Toronto Raptors	126-113	1-0
2	April 20, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Toronto Raptors	115-105	2-0
3	April 23, 2026	Toronto Raptors	Cleveland Cavaliers	126-104	2-1
4	April 26, 2026	Toronto Raptors	Cleveland Cavaliers	93-89	2-2
5	April 29, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Toronto Raptors	125-120	3-2
6	May 1, 2026	Toronto Raptors	Cleveland Cavaliers	112-110	3-3
7	May 3, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Toronto Raptors	114-102	4-3

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Toronto Raptors 4-3 and advance to the second round


Western Conference

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (OKC-PHX)
1	April 19, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Phoenix Suns	119-84	1-0
2	April 22, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Phoenix Suns	120-107	2-0
3	April 25, 2026	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder	109-121	3-0
4	April 27, 2026	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder	122-131	4-0
5 (If Necessary)	April 29, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Phoenix Suns
6 (If Necessary)	May 1, 2026	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
7 (If Necessary)	May 3, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Phoenix Suns

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Phoenix Suns 4-0 and advance to the second round


San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (SAS-POR)
1	April 19, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Portland Trail Blazers	111-98	1-0
2	April 21, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Portland Trail Blazers	103-106	1-1
3	April 24, 2026	Portland Trail Blazers	San Antonio Spurs	108-120	2-1
4	April 26, 2026	Portland Trail Blazers	San Antonio Spurs	93-114	3-1
5	April 28, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Portland Trail Blazers	114-95	4-1
6 (If Necessary)	April 30, 2026	Portland Trail Blazers	San Antonio Spurs
7 (If Necessary)	May 2, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Portland Trail Blazers

The San Antonio Spurs defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 and advance to the second round


Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (DEN-MIN)
1	April 18, 2026	Denver Nuggets	Minnesota Timberwolves	116-105	1-0
2	April 20, 2026	Denver Nuggets	Minnesota Timberwolves	119-114	1-1
3	April 23, 2026	Minnesota Timberwolves	Denver Nuggets	113-96	1-2
4	April 25, 2026	Minnesota Timberwolves	Denver Nuggets	112-96	1-3
5	April 27, 2026	Denver Nuggets	Minnesota Timberwolves	125-113	2-3
6	April 30, 2026	Minnesota Timberwolves	Denver Nuggets	110-98	2-4
7 (If Necessary)	May 2, 2026	Denver Nuggets	Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves defeat the Denver Nuggets 4-2 and advance to the second round


Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (LAL-HOU)
1	April 18, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets	107-98	1-0
2	April 21, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets	101-94	2-0
3	April 24, 2026	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers	108-112	3-0
4	April 26, 2026	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers	116-96	3-1
5	April 29, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets	99-93	3-2
6	May 1, 2026	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers	78-98	4-2
7 (If Necessary)	May 3, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Houston Rockets 4-2 and advance to the second round



Round 2

Eastern Conference

Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (DET-CLE)
1	May 5, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers	111-101	1-0
2	May 7, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers	107-97	2-0
3	May 9, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Detroit Pistons	116-109	2-1
4	May 11, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Detroit Pistons	112-103	2-2
5	May 13, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers	113-117	2-3
6	May 15, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	Detroit Pistons	94-115	3-3
7	May 17, 2026	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers	95-125	3-4

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Detroit Pistons 4-3 and advance to the eastern conference finals


New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (NYK-PHI)
1	May 4, 2026	New York Knicks	Philadelphia 76ers	137-98	1-0
2	May 6, 2026	New York Knicks	Philadelphia 76ers	108-102	2-0
3	May 8, 2026	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks	94-108	3-0
4	May 10, 2026	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks	114-144	4-0
5 (If Necessary)	May 12, 2026	New York Knicks	Philadelphia 76ers
6 (If Necessary)	May 14, 2026	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks
7 (If Necessary)	May 17, 2026	New York Knicks	Philadelphia 76ers

The New York Knicks defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 and advance to the eastern conference finals


Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (OKC-LAL)
1	May 5, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Los Angeles Lakers	108-90	1-0
2	May 7, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Los Angeles Lakers	125-107	2-0
3	May 9, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Oklahoma City Thunder	108-131	3-0
4	May 11, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Oklahoma City Thunder	110-115	4-0
5 (If Necessary)	May 13, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Los Angeles Lakers
6 (If Necessary)	May 16, 2026	Los Angeles Lakers	Oklahoma City Thunder
7 (If Necessary)	May 18, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	Los Angeles Lakers

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 and advance to the western conference finals


San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (SAS-MIN)
1	May 4, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves	102-104	0-1
2	May 6, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves	133-95	1-1
3	May 8, 2026	Minnesota Timberwolves	San Antonio Spurs	108-115	2-1
4	May 10, 2026	Minnesota Timberwolves	San Antonio Spurs	114-109	2-2
5	May 12, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves	126-97	3-2
6	May 15, 2026	Minnesota Timberwolves	San Antonio Spurs	109-139	4-2
7 (If Necessary)	May 17, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves

The San Antonio Spurs defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 and advance to the western conference finals



Conference Finals

New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (NYK-CLE)
1	May 19, 2026	New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers	115-104	1-0
2	May 21, 2026	New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers	109-93	2-0
3	May 23, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks	108-121	3-0
4	May 25, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks	93-130	4-0
5 (If Necessary)	May 27, 2026	New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers
6 (If Necessary)	May 29, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
7 (If Necessary)	May 31, 2026	New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers

The New York Knicks defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 and advance to the NBA Finals


Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (OKC-SAS)
1	May 18, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	San Antonio Spurs	115-122	0-1
2	May 20, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	San Antonio Spurs	122-113	1-1
3	May 22, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Oklahoma City Thunder	108-123	2-1
4	May 24, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Oklahoma City Thunder	103-82	2-2
5	May 26, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	San Antonio Spurs	127-114	3-2
6	May 28, 2026	San Antonio Spurs	Oklahoma City Thunder
7 (If Necessary)	May 30, 2026	Oklahoma City Thunder	San Antonio Spurs

NBA Finals

New York Knicks vs. TBD

Game	Date	Home	Away	Result	Series (TBD-NYK)
1	June 3, 2026	TBD	New York Knicks
2	June 5, 2026	TBD	New York Knicks
3	June 8, 2026	New York Knicks	TBD
4	June 10, 2026	New York Knicks	TBD
5 (If Necessary)	June 13, 2026	TBD	New York Knicks
6 (If Necessary)	June 16, 2026	New York Knicks	TBD
7 (If Necessary)	June 19, 2026	TBD	New York Knicks

 

[One]

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.

 

[One]

Knicks/Sixers

I'm looking forward to this one, partially as a way to measure the Knicks now compared to the Knicks two years ago when these two teams faced off in the first round of the '24 playoffs. Game 2 in that series still lives on as a classic game in Knicks playoff history to me. But since that time, both teams have seen some changes to their rosters. Some of the old pieces are still there on either side, but much has changed. For the Knicks, the biggest changes are the additions of Karl Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges (along with role players like Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, and Jose Alvarado). Towns having been traded for Julius Randle (who didn't play in the previous series due to injury) and Donte DiVincenzo (whose three pointer was the climax in that Game 2). On Philly's side, it's the addition of Paul George and rookie V.J. Edgecombe (along with role players like Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond). Familiar faces on both sides include Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and Deuce McBride for the Knicks; and Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre for the Sixers.

Over the past two years, one of the common themes in playoff series' involving the Knicks has been the talent edge that they've had over their opponent. This is one of the few times (the Celtics series being the other) where there's a good case to be made that the team on the other side is at least as talented. This time though, not only is there a case to be made for a match in talent, but it's also a match in the positions where that talent resides. The Knicks haven't faced a team in the playoffs (since 2024 against Philly) that has an all-star caliber center for one, but also combined with an all-star caliber point guard. The two same positions where the Knicks have their best offensive talent. So I'm really looking forward to how these two teams line up against one another, and despite the Sixers not being considered as a top competitor in the Eastern Conference in a while, that changes somewhat if they have the health and inspiration to play to their talent. And if they are able to do that, I think this series will be used as a measuring stick for the Knicks and the changes that they've made since the last time these two teams met, being that the Sixers were the last team that the Knicks eliminated from the playoffs before making those changes. Fans especially will draw that comparison. We'll see.


Pistons/Cavs

Both of these teams saw their flaws put on display in the previous round, and conveniently enough, both teams flaws play into the others' strengths.

With Cleveland, in this Donovan Mitchell/Evan Mobley/Jarrett Allen era, the knock against them has consistently been that you can bother them a little bit. They can be rattled. If you play with some intensity, not to say that the Raptors are a very physical team but they have the size at the forward positions, and a defensive guard like Jamal Shead to get under your skin a little bit, and if you do that, you can get them off their rhythm a little bit. That's something they're going to have to figure out playing the Pistons who just got out of a physical series and will probably want to re-establish themselves as the most physical team remaining in the eastern conference.

For the Pistons, what we saw in their series against the Magic, was them having trouble dealing with a team that could score consistently from multiple positions. The Cavs can get hot from pretty much any position offensively, with Mitchell, Harden, Strus, Mobley, and Allen. They have shot creators, they have three point specialists, they have versatile scorers, they have a coach in Kenny Atkinson who's adept at putting together an effective offense.

So this series, I see as a battle of two wills. A battering ram vs. a thousand cuts. The Pistons will try to out-tough the Cavs, and the Cavs will try to out play the Pistons.


Thunder/Lakers

Going off of recent results, this is a lopsided matchup. And yet, I do find myself wanting to see how LeBron deals with OKC in a playoff setting. LeBron, or maybe prime LeBron, does not fear small ball, which is why even when the Warriors were the Warriors (let's say the pre-KD version), it wasn't too far fetched to think that as long as LeBron had a reasonable roster around him, the Cavs had a chance. He does not fear small ball. Now, the Thunder aren't exactly small, in that they do feature Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, but they don't have many positional "bigs" otherwise, and when I think of the Thunder, the image that pops up is usually some combination of Shai, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and then Holmgren and Hartenstein. So while they aren't small, in that they have the versatility to play bigger, they thrive off of their ability to play small and fast and "sophisticated" basketball.

Maybe it's too much to put on LeBron's shoulders at this stage of his career, and maybe the OKC machine is just too much for the Lakers to deal with, but I just want to see what this matchup actually looks like in action. And now Austin Reaves has returned, and there are mixed messages on whether or not Luka might return in this series. I couldn't get the Warriors/Thunder matchup that I wanted in the first round, but this series could provide a different but also fun, live battle of wits between these two teams. And if Luka is able to return, well then who knows... Or it could be that the Thunder are too good and completely overwhelm the Lakers and that's that. Either way, I have to see how things look in game 1 at least.


Spurs/Wolves

I don't know what I'm looking for in this series to be honest. I like both of these teams. It's unfortunate that the Wolves are so hobbled. Even with Anthony Edwards being available to play, you imagine he won't be 100%, Ayo Dosunmu had to sit out the final game against the Nuggets, and Donte DiVincenzo is out for the rest of the season. The Wolves are deep but it's a lot to ask against a 2-seed Spurs team with the wealth of talent that they have, that's clicking at the right time. That being said, there are some storyline matchups here. You have Gobert and Wembanyama. Can Gobert keep up, or at least make it somewhat difficult, or at least match Victor defensively, discouraging the Spurs guards from entering the paint? There's the Anthony Edwards and Victor matchup, which goes back to Ant saying that Wemby can be the face of the league, although that doesn't seem to take anything away from him wanting to face any and all players, past and present, anointed into that position, and eliminate them in the playoffs. Which is cool because Victor carries himself the same way. Both want to win and want to defeat other great players on the way to doing so. I'm looking forward to this, but with some caution. Both teams healthy I think this would be a really good series, but with the Wolves being as banged up as they are, you kind of squint to watch, hoping that there are no further injuries.

 

[One]

New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Nothing against the Cavs, but I was really looking forward to a matchup against the Pistons here, given how much their fans have been talking about matching up against the Knicks in the playoffs again. I would've liked to see another chapter added to that rivalry, but unfortunately that's off the table now. In the end, you can only face the opponent that's put in front of you.

I think generally, assuming both teams are healthy and playing at their best, this looks like it's going to be an uphill battle for Cleveland. When I look at the versatility of the Knicks roster and where their best impact players are, on paper, they match up well against this Cavs team.

Some background on this series. Back in 2022, there were actually two players that the Knicks were in discussions about bringing in. The Utah Jazz were breaking up their duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, and they'd just gotten a haul for Rudy, sending him up to Minnesota. There had been rumors for months about the Knicks checking in on potential trade packages that could bring Mitchell over to the Knicks. Donovan Mitchell, being from New York, was open about the Knicks being a preferred destination. That summer, Jalen Brunson was a free agent, and there had also been months worth of whispers about the Knicks interest in bringing him in. Once he became available, the Knicks shuffled some pieces around to clear the necessary cap space and brought him to New York. Negotiations continued with the Jazz, and there was a growing belief that the Knicks would create a star pairing of Brunson and Mitchell as their back court duo. At some point, talks stalled, and then Cleveland unexpectedly swooped in and offered Utah Lauri Markannen and several other pieces, and landed Mitchell with the Cavs.

That year, the Cavs secured the fourth seed in the eastern conference and made the playoffs for the first time since the LeBron years, before losing in the first round to none other than Jalen Brunson and the fifth-seed New York Knicks.

It wasn't the first time Donovan Mitchell had lost to Jalen Brunson in the playoffs. It was the second consecutive year that it happened, as Brunson took over for the Mavericks in the previous year, with Luka Doncic struggling through injuries, to defeat Donovan Mitchell's Utah Jazz and set in motion the team's decision to enter a rebuild.

Back to the 2023 playoff series between the Knicks and Cavs. That series was marked not only by Brunson's stellar play in his first playoff series as a Knick, but also by the complete dominance by Mitchell Robinson over the Cavalier frontcourt, averaging over 5 offensive rebounds per game. That's the memory that lingers in the minds of Knicks fans, looking over at the Cavaliers as a playoff opponent now, years later.

I'll say this though. If the Cavs, namely Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, are able to bring the same effort that they did in the second quarter and beyond in game 7 against the Pistons (to go along with Donovan Mitchell), or if the Knicks come into this series overconfident, expecting this series to be handed to them and not playing to their best, then the Cavs absolutely have the offensive firepower to win games.

In general, the Cavs, especially Donovan Mitchell, are very much capable of getting hot offensively and looking unbeatable in spots. The biggest knock against them besides their issues against physicality, is that they're also prone to jitters and droughts at random points in a game. Even in game 7, as they built the lead over Detroit, there were moments early where it looked like the Pistons were just a momentum swing away from getting back into it. But credit to the Cavs, they never allowed themselves to lose control for too long, and whenever there was an opportunity for the Pistons to get something going, the Cavs responded and pulled ahead.

However... the Knicks are a different opponent, with a different set of strengths that, on the surface, match up better against Cleveland. Such that, if the Knicks play at their best, given their talent which has been playing up to standard for the last several games in these playoffs, given the efficiency that they're playing with right now, given the versatility in terms of personnel and the multiple different styles of play that they're capable of throwing at the Cavs if need be, then it's the Knicks who will be in the driver's seat for this series.

I think Kenny Atkinson has his work cut out for him, but I'm looking forward to seeing what adjustments he makes to counter what the Knicks have been doing in this run.

Another thing for the Knicks to be mindful of in this series is foul trouble, especially with KAT. You can expect the Cavs to try to bring both him and Brunson into actions repeatedly, and for Harden, Mobley, and Mitchell, to try to get those guys and others into foul trouble.

Ultimately, if both teams are playing at their best, I think the Knicks have the advantage. The only thing they can't do in this series is take it easy.

And to put a cap on the background of this series, later that year, after the Jazz sent Donovan to Cleveland, the Knicks pivoted toward negotiations with the Toronto Raptors, and some of the pieces that would've been included in a deal with the Jazz, ended up being used to bring in another player that had been on the Knicks' radar for a long time. That being OG Anunoby.


Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs

I genuinely can't call this series for either team. This is one of those that I think everyone who's been watching the NBA this year has been hoping for, for a long time.

There's a lot that's up in the air when trying to make an assessment. I think if you laid out these two teams' rosters side by side, you'd come away with the Thunder having an edge when it comes to depth. But when you look at the Spurs, I think the question becomes how much of an advantage is Victor Wembanyama. What exactly is his ceiling, even at this stage of his career. That's what I'm wrestling back and forth with.

Regular season records don't predict exactly playoff outcomes, but it does make you wonder. The Thunder had very little trouble outplaying most of the league this year, but there's something about the Spurs (and of course Wembanyama) that's able to grind the OKC machine down in a way that's almost backwards compared to what we see when they play virtually anybody else. As in, there have been moments in these matchups where we've seen OKC look uncharacteristically discombobulated and out of answers on how to deal with Victor and San Antonio.

But then again, the Thunder beat the Spurs handily in the last game the two teams played close to full strength. Then they rested their players for the final meeting of the season. So it makes you wonder. Did they figure something out?

Thinking about the matchups, of course I have to mention the Wembanayama-Holmgren matchup. Two slender 7+ footers who can operate from anywhere on the court, are elite on both sides of the ball, and play with actual competitive disdain for one another. One (Wemby) genuinely, vehemently dislikes losing to the other.

Then there's the Castle-SGA matchup. Obviously SGA is on a different tier at this stage of their careers, but Castle is one of the rising defensive players in the league, and he knows how to bother guys, including SGA. In fact, Castle is one of the first people that I've seen agitate SGA to the point of evoking some trash talk from him, and I think it was from that second to last game of the season between them that OKC won at home.

In terms of roster versatility, I think the edge also goes to OKC, but the Spurs aren't slouches there either. They can play somewhat small with guys like Castle, Fox, Johnson, Harper, Vassel, Champagnie, and they can also match OKC's bigs, Holmgren and Hartenstein, with Wembanyama and Kornet.

To me, it comes down to figuring out just how much of an equalizer Wembanyama is, and where is his ceiling exactly? And seeing whether he can not only close whatever distance exists between San Antonio and OKC, but even potentially lift the Spurs beyond the Thunder and create some distance for themselves.

The Thunder for their part, I think will try to run their well-oiled, championship caliber machine and execute as well as we've come to expect, ramp it up as needed, and play their game. I think we'll see more intensity from them in this round than the previous two, but I don't think they'll get too far out of character as far as play style, unless things start going very wrong.

I do not know who wins this series. When I lean toward OKC, I find myself imagining Wembanyama's pure disgust at being on the verge of losing to the Thunder (and also Chet in particular), and I'm left to wonder what that might evoke from him as a competitor. If I lean toward San Antonio, I find myself falling back to the rote execution of the Thunder, and their proven championship mettle.

On one hand, you have the potential makings of a dynasty with OKC, and on the other hand, you're captivated by the possibilities of what Victor Wembanyama might unlock in this series, in his pursuit of what probably feels like his destiny. Both sides pursuing excellence.

I'm excited for this series.


For both of these series, all you can hope for is that everyone is as healthy as they can be, and that we get some great basketball.

 

[One]

Unreal. All I could think after the game was wtf did I just watch?

Great effort from both teams. Amazing performance by Victor Wembanyama. 22 years old, first game in the conference finals, up against the defending NBA champions and the reigning two-time league MVP, and drops 41 and 24 while dominating defensively to steal game 1 in their building. Unreal.

 

[One]

Can't be a Knicks fan without experiencing heart palpitations. Coming off of the spectacular WCF game from last night, the first 3 and a half quarters of this one saw some very sloppy basketball by comparison.

The Cavs got into a rhythm and hit their stride somewhere in the second quarter, and piled on for most of the game, being the less sloppy team over that period. But with just under 8 minutes to go, and the Knicks finding themselves down 22, Brunson caught fire, hunting James Harden every time down the floor. With the help of some key shots from Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges, the Knicks climbed all the way back, forcing overtime, and then dominating the extra period to win by 11, completing a 33 point swing to win the game and hold court in game 1.

 

[One]

The Thunder strike back and take game 2 at home 122-113

 

[One]

The Knicks take control in game 2, defeating the Cavs 109-93, and defend home court going into game 3 in Cleveland.

Cavs made some adjustments, but unlike with the Pistons, they can't afford to go into these dry spells expecting to come back when the Knicks stop hitting shots. The Knicks, when playing to their abilities, can score consistently enough over the course of a game that if you fall behind you may never be allowed to get back into it. And they have a multitude of styles they can play with, some of which they've yet to deploy in this series, probably because they haven't felt the need to. Now it's the Cavs' turn to play at home and try to defend their court and make this a series. I'm sure they'll pull some inspiration from their comeback down two against Detroit in the last round. It's on the Knicks to be ready for all of it. We'll see.

 

[One]

The Thunder defeat the Spurs 123-108 in game 3 and regain home court advantage

Consistency on both sides of the ball for OKC. In addition to leaning on their bigs more to contain Wemby, I thought they did a good job of playing the weak spots in Wembanyama's coverages. They'd bring him up to the ball (with screens, having him follow his defender up), and then take advantage of his absence down in the paint to drive hard to the rim. If he stayed down and patrolled the paint, they did a good job of playing along the perimeter and finding the open man. Spurs experimented with the double big line up with Wemby and Kornet for a short period, but went away from it after a few errors. De'Aaron Fox tried to give it a go, but he was struggling out there down the stretch, at one point re-tweaking that ankle. Spurs have some work in front of them, and adjustments to be made going into game 4.

 

[One]

The Knicks control game 3 start to finish in Cleveland, and defeat the Cavs 121-108 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series

 

[One]

Spurs dominate game 4, defeating the Thunder 103-82 to even up the series.

When's the last time the Thunder were held to less than 90 points in a game? The most recent I could find was the 2024 NBA Cup final, and before that one it's April of 2022

 

[One]

The Knicks defeat the Cavs 130-93, and take the series 4-0.

For the first time since 1999, the New York Knicks will represent the eastern conference in the NBA Finals.

It's a surreal feeling. That year, '98-99, coming out of a lockout, battling to even get into the playoffs, then knocking off the 1-seed Heat in the first round, then later onto the 4-point play in game 3 of the eastern conference finals at the Garden against the Pacers. Classic moments. But by the time the finals rolled around, Patrick Ewing was so worn down, battling through injuries, years of carrying the team, that he wasn't going to be available to play. We rallied behind the team of Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby, Charlie Ward, Chris Childs, Kurt Thomas, all these guys stepping up in their roles, but we knew how tall of a task they were facing going into that series against the fully loaded Spurs.

To contrast that to this team, coming into a second consecutive eastern conference finals, riding an 11-0 playoff run, with a +262 point differential over that period, and a +271 point differential overall in these playoffs, going into the NBA finals fully healthy, I don't know how to describe it. Surely whoever they face will be a challenge, but to be here again, and to be as ready as they are this time. It's a crazy feeling.

Patrick Ewing and Walt Clyde Frazier are here to hand off the Bob Cousy Eastern Conference Champion award, and the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award to the captain, Jalen Brunson.

 

[One]

The Thunder defeat the Spurs 127-114 to take a 3-2 series lead

 

[One]

The Spurs defeat the Thunder convincingly, 118-91 , to tie the series back up at 3-3, and send it to game 7 in Oklahoma City