Bold Predictions for the Rest of the 2026 NBA Playoffs
We're (almost) down to the NBA's version of the final four, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks have already punched their ticket to the Conference Finals.
We still have a few pivotal Game 6's (and possibly 7s) left to play out, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs fighting for a spot as well.
Can the Pistons force a Game 7 with a Friday night win in Cleveland? Will any player top the 45 points that Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero put up in these playoffs? How will this postseason affect the futures of Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Duren and Evan Mobley? Which teams will ultimately advance to the NBA Finals, and who comes away as our 2026 champion?
It's time to make some bold predictions.
Anthony Edwards Scores 2026 Playoff High 46-plus Points in Game 6
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Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero are the current single game scoring leaders in the 2026 postseason when they each dropped 45 points...against each other.
On Friday night, Anthony Edwards will take the crown.
With the Minnesota Timberwolves season on the line in a must-win game at home, Edwards will step up when his team needs him the most.
The four-time All-Star has begun looking like himself again the past three games after suffering a left knee bone bruise and hyperextension in the first round against the Denver Nuggets. After returning in a smaller role off the bench in the first two games against the San Antonio Spurs, Edwards is back up to 29.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 50.8/41.2/90.5 shooting splits in his last three starts.
The 24-year-old already has five career 40-plus point games in the postseason, headlined by 44 against the Denver Nuggets in 2024.
Few players can throw on the superman cape and dominate a game like Edwards, who has a higher postseason scoring average than legends like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain.
Edwards will drop 46 (or more) and momentarily keep the Timberwolves' season alive.
Pistons Win Game 6 in Cleveland
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The Cleveland Cavaliers are a perfect 6-0 at home this postseason. The Detroit Pistons are about to change that.
Detroit hasn't lost four games in a row with a healthy Cade Cunningham all season. The Pistons only lost back-to-back games three times during the regular season and have shown remarkable bounce-back ability. With their 60-win season on the line, expect Detroit to be plenty motivated.
The Cavs weren't able to put the Toronto Raptors away in Game 6 during the first round, needing the full seven despite their Canadian counterparts missing both Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley.
This is also the part of a playoff series where James Harden tends to struggle. Harden is averaging just 16.8 points on 37.3 percent shooting overall and 22.6 percent from three over his last five Game 6's dating back to 2022.
The Pistons will make the adjustments necessary to win Game 6 and send the series back to Detroit for a Game 7.
Jalen Brunson Leads All Conference Finals Players in Scoring
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There are still plenty of offensive stars remaining in the postseason, a list that is headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and includes Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama and others.
In the Conference Finals, however, it will be New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson who rises to the top.
Brunson finished the regular season a respectable 14th overall in points per game (26.0) and has been even better in these playoffs (27.4, third overall). The Knicks may need him to produce more than any other star player next round, however, leading to this bold prediction.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 31.1 points per game this season (second only to Luka Dončić), hasn't been relied on as much this postseason, even with Jalen Williams missing the second round due to a hamstring injury. Gilgeous-Alexander only needed 24.5 points per game to sweep the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 23 or less in three of the team's four contests. Jalen Williams could be back next round, taking even more pressure off of the MVP guard.
Brunson proved last year that he can shine on this stage. The three-time All-Star put up 30.7 points on 50.4 percent shooting in the East Finals against the Indiana Pacers last May, including 43 in a Game 1 thriller.
With Karl-Anthony Towns averaging just 15.0 points over his last six playoff games, Brunson's hot hand will lead all Conference Finals scorers and carry the Knicks into the NBA Finals.
Spurs Push Thunder to 7 Games in West Finals
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The Oklahoma City Thunder went a remarkable 63-14 against 28 NBA teams this season, yet were just 1-4 in five games vs. the San Antonio Spurs.
After breezing through the first two rounds of the playoffs with a perfect 8-0 record, the Thunder will have to go the full seven with their newest arch nemesis.
San Antonio is perhaps the one team that this loaded OKC squad doesn't match up well against.
Chet Holmgren's size and shot-blocking is heavily negated by Victor Wembanyama. The Thunder All-Star big averaged just 10.5 points on 38.7 percent shooting overall in four games vs. Wemby and company this season. Stephon Castle is quickly becoming one of the NBA's best point-of-attack defenders, partially explaining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 19.0 percent mark from three in the series.
San Antonio has enough juice to get by the Minnesota Timberwolves and will give the Thunder the best fight of any NBA team. In the end, however, OKC will advance and move on to defend their crown in the Finals.
Donovan Mitchell OR Evan Mobley Play Last Game As a Cleveland Cavalier
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The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed towards a crossroads this summer, no matter how their 2026 playoff run ends.
Losing in the second round to the Detroit Pistons or a short series in the East Finals against the New York Knicks could cause Donovan Mitchell to consider other options as a free agent in 2027. If he's hesitant to sign an extension, the Cavs could make the difficult decision to trade the seven-time All-Star for fear of losing him for nothing. Cleveland doesn't control its first-round pick until the 2030 draft thanks to the trade that brought Mitchell to the Cavaliers from the Utah Jazz in 2022.
There's also a second outcome.
If the Cavs play a competitive series against the Knicks or even reach the NBA Finals, there will be immense pressure to push all the chips in to try and win the 2027 title. This could mean punting on Evan Mobley's potential to try to bring in a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo. Mobley is an elite defender but his inconsistent offensive motor and lackluster postseason numbers (16.6 points, 7.8 rebounds in 35.2 minutes) may force the Cavs into making a deal. Swapping 26-year-old Darius Garland for 36-year-old James Harden was already a sign that Cleveland is willing to sacrifice its future for a better chance at winning now.
Either way, Mitchell or Mobley will play their last game in Cleveland.
Playoff Benching Leads to Jalen Duren Signing Offer Sheet with Another Team
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A max contract for Jalen Duren wouldn't have been out of the question a month ago.
The 22-year-old center made his first All-Star team, averaging 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 stocks and shooting 65.0 percent overall in just 28.2 minutes per game. He finished sixth in the NBA in rebounding and was 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Now, we could see the restricted free agent signing with an entirely different team this summer.
Duren has been benched down the stretch of multiple games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, as Detroit Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff has elected to use Paul Reed instead. Duren finished with just two rebounds in 26 minutes in a Game 4 loss and has scored nine points or fewer in six of his 12 playoff games.
The Pistons may not want to throw a huge contract at Duren after these postseason benchings and the fourth-year center may not be wild at the idea of returning to Detroit, either.
The Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers both project to have premier cap space this summer and have a need for a new starting center.
Expect Duren to sign an offer sheet with one of these two franchises and leave the Pistons with a difficult decision.
Thunder Sweep Knicks in 2026 Finals
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Big Apple meets Boomer Sooner in a tantalizing NBA Finals matchup.
At least, on paper.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a budding dynasty, the deepest team in the NBA led by a (soon to be two-time) MVP and owners of the stingiest defense the league has to offer.
The New York Knicks may put up a fight in nearly every game, but the Thunder are a winning machine right now that will sweep a Knicks team that will just be happy to be there.
New York hasn't beaten OKC in almost four calendar years, with their last victory coming on November 21, 2022. Both teams looked wildly different back then, as the Knicks' starting five featured RJ Barrett, Julius Randle and Quentin Grimes while Jalen Williams came off the bench for the Thunder in just the 13th game of his young career.
The Thunder have since reeled off six straight wins vs. the Knicks, including a perfect 2-0 record this year.
New York is a good team, and making it this far should be heralded as quite the accomplishment. After making it past the dreaded San Antonio Spurs, however, the Thunder will find this matchup far friendlier and sweep the Knicks to win their second-straight title.
