Bold Predictions for Every Second Round NBA Playoffs Series

At long last, amid a seemingly endless slew of first-round games, Round 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs has formed.

Everything is on the table. Injuries, individual matchups, first-round developments, longstanding flaws and strengths, slumps, hot streaks, coaching, vibes—they all shape these decisions.

So, which squads are destined to crack the conference finals? To the crystal ball!

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers

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Both the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers underachieved relative to what we thought that we knew about their first-round opponents. Both also happened to course correct by the time their respective Game 7s ended.

This matchup comes down to a defining question for each squad. Let's start with the Pistons: Can they generate enough offense beyond hitting the "Cade Cunningham do something" button?

Any answer, whether good or bad, begins with Jalen Duren. He is supposed to be Detroit's No. 2 option. He was never that against the Orlando Magic. Cleveland is not nearly as rough-and-tumble, but it can effectively wall off the paint when Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are playing together. 

If Duren can't return to regular-season form, it increases the burden upon the shoulders of Daniss Jenkins and Tobias Harris. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff probably also needs to explore more Ausar Thompson-as-the-screener possessions. 

The Cavs have more soft spots than the Magic for Cade and company to poke and prod, particularly when they roll with one big. But the lack of consistency from the "company" end is concerning and may permit Cleveland to run as small as it pleases during solo-big stretches.

Speaking of the Cavs: Can they handle Detroit's physicality effectively enough to keep the offense humming? Donovan Mitchell and James Harden both struggled to reach the hoop versus Toronto's ubiquitous size and activity. They attempted a total of three shots inside the restricted area combined in the half-court during Game 7. All of them came from Mitchell.

One-big lineups with Mobley or Allen surrounded by Harden, Mitchell and then two of Dean Wade, Max Strus and Sam Merrill can open things up. Whether they can survive defensively is a separate matter.

Cleveland at the very least needs to take more care of the ball. The Pistons are no less active on defense than the Raptors. Ausar Thompson is proof teleportation exists. 

When all's said and done, the Cavs' problems feel more solvable than the Pistons' issues. Allen, in particular, started playing with more oomph and physicality by the end of the Raptors series. Mobley has the ability to flip the same switch. Strus will full-court press until he passes out. Detroit can't suddenly conjure better offensive talent. It may wind up uncomfortably reliant on joint Cunningham-Jenkins minutes, and those combos mustered just 1.06 points per possession versus Orlando.

It's a tale as old as this Pistons core. The defense is dominant and resilient, but the offense lacks enough counters to keep pace with a Cavs squad that can field three to four dribble-drive-pass bodies at any given time.

Prediction: Cavs in 6

(3) New York Knicks vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers

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The Philadelphia 76ers upending the Boston Celtics was a real shock even when accounting for Jayson Tatum's absence in Game 7.

Joel Embiid has rounded into offensive form just a few games into his return from an appendectomy. Tyrese Maxey is superstar-ing it up. VJ Edgecombe is relentless and fearless at both ends. Paul George is torching "Playoff P" trollsters. Kelly Oubre Jr. is a complementary fever dream right now.

Add it all up, and the New York Knicks, like the Celtics before them, are going to have their hands full. They have leveled up defensively since the postseason began, but the athleticism and on-ball burst of Maxey and Edgecombe stands to give even OG Anunoby nightmares. Philly's ability to derail Boston's offensive glass-crashing also brings into question whether New York can continue cleaning up misses with top-two frequency.

Conversely, though, you have to wonder how much the Sixers' primary advantages matter coming out of a seven-game series in which they initially trailed 3-1. It takes a lot of energy to pull a reverse Doc Rivers. Embiid looked like he could barely walk by the end of Game 7.

Neutralizing New York's presence on the offensive glass will be harder, too. The Celtics are more reliant on bigger wings doing the dirty work on the boards. The Knicks, by contrast, depend on two behemoths (and, apparently, Jordan Clarkson!) in Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. 

Embiid is a massive human being himself. But he's so clearly not his usual self on defense. This should be a series in which Towns eats even when the Sixers put a wing on him. Philly also skews smaller after Embiid and Andre Drummond. New York will have the overall size advantage playing just one big and enter annihilatory territory if head coach Mike Brown continues dusting off the dual-center units with KAT and Mitch to close first quarters.

Jalen Brunson will have to work hard for buckets against Edgecombe, George, Quentin Grimes and even Maxey. What else is new? It's tough to care about this when he just navigated a personal hell constructed by Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. In the event he doesn't have it going, Towns' progression as a playmaker and OG Anunoby's third-option actualization can help paper over it.

The gut-feeling pick is Knicks in five. But the Sixers are playing ferocious defense, and New York's offense is nothing if not prone to feeding into opposing gameplans for stretches at a time. 

Prediction: Knicks in 6

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs (4) Los Angeles Lakers

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Congratulations to the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers for beating the zombies-in-training Houston Rockets. Their reward for navigating the vast majority of that series without either Austin Reaves or Luka Dončić? The right to get blown off the floor by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Getting Austin Reaves back provides the Lakers with much-needed offensive relief. It won't matter. Not against this Thunder defense. Los Angeles coughed up the ball on over 20 percent of its offensive possessions entering Game 6 of its series versus Houston. Oklahoma City's sprawling, physical, blanking machine is going to eat them alive, just a little more slowly now that LeBron James has a more adequate ball-handling partner in Reaves.

The calculus changes considerably if Dončić returns from his Grade 2 hamstring strain anytime soon. It just doesn't sound like that's happening. Even if it does, that merely gives the Lakers a path to more efficient, controlled offense. It does not help them guard Oklahoma City. 

The Thunder can overwhelm the Lakers with size by running Chet Holmgren-Isaiah Hartenstein frontcourt. Or they can attempt to athletic them out of the gym. Or they can just wait for Los Angeles' set defense to wilt under the weight of their options.

Marcus Smart has been fantastic, but giving him the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assignment is just mean. If by some miracle he turns the likely MVP into a regular human, the Lakers don't have the bodies to throw at everyone else. Their job gets a little easier if Jalen Williams remains out with his own left hamstring strain (Grade 1), but Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes aren't derailing Chet or Hartenstein. 

The Lakers could even struggle to cobble together an answer for Ajay Mitchell. And any defensive solutions they do uncork will invariably come at the expense of the spacing or offense at large. 

Predicting a sweep feels like the right call. But, because the Thunder may not suit up J-Dub—and also because LeBron may have a 40-point triple-double in him—I'll take a more gentlemanly approach.

Prediction: Thunder in 5

(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves

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This should be the most compelling second-round series on the menu—provided the Minnesota Timberwolves are healthy enough.

Anthony Edwards suffered a left knee injury in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets and hasn't played since. Donte DiVincenzo is done for the postseason with an Achilles injury. Ayo Dosunmu is dealing with a calf strain and didn't play Game 6 versus Denver. Naz Reid is seemingly playing on one shoulder.

The San Antonio Spurs' job gets much easier if Edwards, specifically, isn't ready to rock. No one wants that—including Victor Wembanyama. Or rather, especially Victor Wembanyama. 

Minnesota will have a tough enough time scoring in the half-court with Edwards. Life can devolve into hell without him. At the same time, the Wolves are more equipped than years past to find buckets independent of him. 

Dosunmu has to be healthy, and they may need Bones Hyland in small batches. Mostly, though, the optimism comes down to Julius Randle's physicality against a not-exactly-girthy Spurs squad, and Jaden McDaniels' year-over-year scoring improvement. The latter development is huge. McDaniels has a better handle and more in-between counters than he did a couple of years ago. He shot 9-of-14 in the half-court from mid-range against the Nuggets.

Granted, San Antonio's defense isn't Denver's defense. In-between opportunities won't come as easy with Wemby on the court. Minnesota must hope to keep the Spurs' offense in check to swing the upset, a tall order that comes down to a fundamental question: Do the Wolves tie Rudy Gobert to Wembanyama or put him on Stephon Castle and let him roam?

Even with Castle shooting over 40 percent from three, yours truly leans toward the latter. San Antonio is teeming with guys comfortable getting downhill and attacking the basket and/or downing looks in the paint. Gobert will have an easier time taking those away if Minnesota sacrifices Randle to the Wemby assignment. 

We've spent a ton of time thinking about how the Wolves approach this one. That ultimately says it all. 

Minnesota has proved to be a switch-flipper at this time of year, with or without Edwards. But the Spurs are the healthier, deeper and better team. They will have more counters for the Wolves' athletic perimeter defense, and containing Minny's offense even when it runs jumbo-sized lineups won't be much of an issue when they have Castle and Dylan Harper to contain ball-handlers. 

The romantic in me believes Edwards will play and be good, and that the Wolves make this interesting. Just not interesting enough.

Prediction: Spurs in 6

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Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.