Running analysis of Round 1 of the NBA playoffs

Our basketball writers share their observations and insights throughout Round 1 of the NBA postseason.

Sunday, April 19

Suggs sets the tone for Magic

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said it took his team playing with a sense of "desperation" to beat the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in and make it this far. Jalen Suggs may have taken that to heart in Game 1 against the Detroit Pistons. The 24-year-old was absolutely everywhere in the opening minutes. After hitting a pair of threes for Orlando's first buckets, the Magic guard reminded his teammates of the kind of effort it's going to take to really bother the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons when he threw himself at a loose ball in the middle of the open floor - even when it may not have been entirely necessary.

In just nine first-quarter minutes, Suggs posted 11 points, two rebounds, two steals, and a block. But critically, he helped Orlando stun Detroit out of the gate; it was just the eighth time all year Mosley's squad has scored at least 35 first-quarter points on the road, but the Magic seemed to have a response for nearly everything from that point on and refused to let the conference leaders slowly re-assemble their suddenly shaky confidence at home.

If the Pistons come out slow again in Game 2, the East's best regular-season squad may be staring at an embarrassing 2-0 deficit when the series shifts to Orlando. - Jonathan Soveta

Suns had no answer for Thunder's defense

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's detractors may take issue with his 17 free-throw attempts in Sunday's blowout of the Suns (Phoenix shot 18 free throws as a team), but Oklahoma City simply smothered Phoenix with impeccable defense in Game 1. Specifically, the reigning champs showed they're still resistant to mismatches.

After the Suns went 0-of-5 on threes contested by Chet Holmgren in the first half, they seemed more willing to attack the void left inside by the 7-foot-2 All-Star in the third quarter. That proved all but futile, too. Early in the frame, Oso Ighodaro had what appeared to be a clean dunk snuffed at the rim by Gilgeous-Alexander. A couple minutes later, some excellent ball movement by Phoenix gave Dillon Brooks the opportunity to drive to the basket - and it didn't matter, because Jalen Williams stonewalled him.

Not everyone's a fan of the Thunder's aggressive, physical style - certainly not Devin Booker, who had a miserable time with Lu Dort and Cason Wallace - but it's the attention to detail and structure that makes Mark Daigneault's squad such strong contenders to retain their crown. Sunday, it felt as though Phoenix would have to play five-on-four for this series to feel fair. And when the Suns found themselves in exactly that situation after Dort was left behind on a layup late in the third, they turned it over on an offensive foul. That's not a good omen. - Jonathan Soveta

Tatum's comeback continues

There was no guarantee Jayson Tatum would be back this season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the second round of last May's playoffs. He returned less than a year after the devastating injury and appears to be rounding into form after a strong finish to the regular season.

Tatum flirted with a triple-double Sunday, tallying 25 points, 11 boards, and seven assists as the Celtics coasted to a dominant 123-91 Game 1 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The six-time All-Star asserted himself right out of the gate, scoring or assisting on 19 of Boston's 33 first-quarter points, according to ESPN Insights. He joined Jimmy Butler and Russell Westbrook as the only players in the play-by-play era to produce at least 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the first half of a playoff game.

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Tatum was involved in all facets of Boston's offense. The 6-foot-8 forward knocked down turnaround jumpers, split defenses out of the pick-and-roll, and got to the rim at will. He flourished as a playmaker with hit-ahead passes in transition and feeds to his big men as the pick-and-roll operator. If the Celtics keep getting this version of Tatum, they'll be a serious threat to win it all. - Chicco Nacion

Saturday, April 18

Rockets can't score without KD

LeBron James' age-defying greatness is always a story, and Luke Kennard firing his way to a game-high 27 points (on 9-of-13 shooting) was fun to watch, but the headline of Los Angeles' Game 1 victory over Houston wasn't how the Lakers overcame injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. It was how predictably hopeless the Rockets' attack was without Kevin Durant, who missed the contest due to a right knee contusion.

The Rockets' anemic halfcourt offense already looked like the team's Achilles heel with Durant in the lineup, as a preseason knee injury to Fred VanVleet left Houston without a true point guard. Among the 16 playoff teams, Houston owned the 13th-best half-court offense (and the worst among the 12 top-six seeds). The Rockets would've killed for such standard levels of futility Saturday night in Hollywood.

Houston's 98 points and 24th percentile efficiency (per Cleaning The Glass) don't even tell the entire story, as the Rockets feasted on offensive rebounds and turned many of the Lakers' 18 turnovers into fast-break points. Take second-chance points out of the equation, and the score was 100-75 for the Lakers. Eliminate fast-break points, too, and it would've been 96-64. Houston's effective field-goal percentage of 43.5% was the lowest such mark for any team over the last 23 playoff games dating back to last spring.

Between All-Star big man Alperen Sengun, the shooting of Reed Sheppard, the relentlessness of Amen Thompson, and the team's commitment to crashing the glass, Houston should be able to score at least slightly better than this, but it's not going to be pretty. And if Durant doesn't return immediately, this series won't last long.

Suddenly, the possibility of the Lakers surviving long enough to get Doncic and Reaves back doesn't seem so far-fetched. - Joseph Casciaro

Knicks hunt switching Hawks in Game 1

Jalen Brunson's 28 points on 25 shooting possessions may not seem remarkably efficient in the boxscore, but in a series-opening game where offense was hard to come by, the Knicks' franchise star led the way. How he went about it was the story of the contest, as Brunson spent the majority of Game 1 being guarded by tough perimeter defenders like Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Or at least that's how it looked on the surface.

Brunson and the Knicks ran Daniels and Alexander-Walker (mostly Daniels) through a dizzying maze of screens to ensure anyone but those guys actually guarded Brunson. Sometimes New York used a simple screen for Brunson on the ball. At other times, multiple off-ball screens allowed him to eventually receive it with a lesser defender on him. For the switch-everything Hawks, that meant the defensively challenged CJ McCollum or bigger players ill equipped to move their feet with the undersized Brunson - like Onyeka Okongwu or Mouhamed Gueye - ended up having to contest the All-Star despite Daniels or Alexander-Walker initially guarding him.

Nine of Brunson's 25 shooting possessions began with Daniels guarding him, but only two of his shot attempts actually came with Daniels as his closest defender. It should be noted that in deploying Alexander-Walker on Brunson more than Daniels in the second half, the Canadian appeared to have more leeway to abandon the Hawks' usual strategy and fight over screens, forcing Brunson into tough shots and more misses. Atlanta's defense vastly improved after Trae Young played his last game for the Hawks, with their switching scheme finding great success. But at some point, head coach Quin Snyder should consider letting his best perimeter defenders find a way to stick to Brunson (if they can). - Joseph Casciaro

Should Wolves be deflated or encouraged?

Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets pulled away from the Timberwolves in the second half of a Game 1 win, but there are reasons to be encouraged in Minnesota. For one, Rudy Gobert was mostly excellent at defending Jokic, and he even contributed on offense. The Wolves also managed to find themselves in a clutch-time game despite Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle combining for an inefficient 38 points on 39 shooting possessions.

The glass-half-empty view is that Gobert might not replicate that two-way performance again in the series, whereas Edwards' struggles could continue. The four-time All-Star still looks hampered by a knee injury that sidelined him for most of March, and the full-strength Nuggets (with Aaron Gordon in the lineup) have a much higher ceiling than their 21st-ranked regular-season defense suggests. Denver will continue to show Edwards extra bodies, help, and multi-layered defensive looks until Randle and Co. make the Nuggets pay. - Joseph Casciaro

Lineup decisions burn Finch, Wolves

Head coach Chris Finch will have to answer for a random and inexplicable lineup combination early in the second quarter that took the air out of Minnesota's balloon. With his team up by 10 points to start the frame and Jokic on the bench, Finch turned to a lineup that didn't log a single minute together during the regular season: Mike Conley, Bones Hyland, Ayo Dosunmu, Naz Reid, and Gobert.

The awkward quintet was outscored by six points in just over three minutes (11-5 in 3:18), paving the way for Denver to take control when Jokic returned to the court. Similar lineups with Donte DiVincenzo or Jaden McDaniels in place of Conley had success in limited regular-season minutes, but Game 1 in Denver wasn't the time to test out the Conley-led version. - Joseph Casciaro

Cavs have Raps facing tough questions

The seeds say Cleveland vs. Toronto is a 4-vs.-5 matchup, but the talent disparity is more in line with a 2-vs.-7 or perhaps even a 1-vs.-8 with Raptors starter Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) sidelined. That much was evident in a 126-113 Game 1 victory for the Cavaliers, which saw Cleveland lead for nearly 38 minutes and by as many as 24 points.

There's plenty to nitpick about Toronto's performance: The consistency and body language of Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram were disappointing, the Cavs did a great job getting back (even after turnovers) to neutralize the Raptors' fast-break attack, and Toronto didn't close quarters (or open the second half) with the focus necessary to trouble a superior opponent. But the most glaring issue for the Raptors was the defensive vulnerability of Jakob Poeltl and RJ Barrett.

The former has been a shell of himself most of this season (largely due to early-season back issues), while the latter is one of the league's worst defensive players. That gave Cleveland's core four a couple of surefire targets to attack. Between the backcourt brilliance of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell and the way big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen play off Cleveland's star guards, the Cavs feasted on the combo of Barrett and Poeltl.

If the Raptors want to keep this competitive, tough decisions need to be made. Head coach Darko Rajakovic should consider using Barnes on Harden more often (even though he prefers Barnes as a help defender), starting rookie Collin Murray-Boyles over Poeltl, and giving more of Barrett's minutes to sophomore Ja'Kobe Walter, who's emerged as a solid 3-and-D rotation player. It won't fix everything and probably won't change the ultimate result of the series, but it's worth a shot after the pitiful defensive display we watched in Game 1. - Joseph Casciaro

The NBA playoffs are finally here

After a regular season defined by an all-time tank-fest, the 2026 postseason promises to deliver a much-needed jolt of competitive basketball.

Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are looking to become the Association's first repeat champions in eight years. Oklahoma City will face stiff competition from Western Conference foes San Antonio, led by phenom Victor Wembanyama, and Nikola Jokic's Nuggets. The injury-depleted Lakers may not factor into the championship picture, but a first-round matchup between LeBron James and Kevin Durant's Houston Rockets - if and when KD returns from his own knee injury - is the kind of legendary battle postseason memories are made of.

Out East, the Pistons are trying to prove that their first-place finish wasn't a fluke, while Jayson Tatum's inspiring return from a devastating Achilles injury has Boston thinking about banner No. 19. And of course, the Knicks continue their quest to end New York's 53-year title drought. - Joseph Casciaro

Friday, April 17

Can disappointing Magic stun Pistons?

Orlando entered the season poised to threaten for a top-three seed and the team's deepest playoff run in a generation, but a combination of injuries and woefully uninspiring play left the Magic fighting for their postseason lives. After a curb-stomping of the upstart Hornets on Friday - one of Orlando's most impressive performances all season - the question now becomes, can the Magic give the top-seeded Pistons a run for their money?

The Magic have size, multiple All-Star caliber shot creators, a high defensive ceiling, and they enter the playoffs healthier than they've been all year. With Pistons star Cade Cunningham only 10 days removed from recovering after a collapsed lung, and Detroit light on shooting, this series has the potential to be much more of a slugfest than a typical 1-vs.-8 matchup.

Given the assets surrendered for sharpshooter Desmond Bane (who's been great for them) and the preseason expectations, the Magic face more pressure than a standard eight-seed. A deep run feels unlikely, but Orlando will fancy its chances on the Pistons/Cavs/Raptors side of the bracket more than it would've on the Celtics/Knicks/Hawks half. - Joseph Casciaro

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