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Now things get real.
The NBA playoffs are here and make no mistake: Oklahoma City is the team to beat. The Thunder are the reigning champions and had the best record in the NBA despite a rash of injuries, including their second-best player from last season missing the majority of the season.
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That doesn’t mean they are invincible. San Antonio, Denver, Boston and others would have a shot, but they all have to make it to face OKC first. This is going to be a long and wild playoffs.
Here are my predictions for the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
First Round
Eastern Conference
• Detroit beats Orlando 4-1
• Boston beats Philadelphia 4-1
• New York beats Atlanta 4-3
• Cleveland beats Toronto 4-2
Atlanta is going to put a scare into New York (and an upset is not out of the question). This Hawks team had the third-best net rating in the league over the last two months, is fearless, has an All-NBA talent in Jalen Johnson, plus they have Nickeil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum giving them plenty of scoring, and Dyson Daniels locking guys down. The Knicks’ bench and experience get them over the hump, but barely. Aside from that, Cleveland should look improved with its shrunken playoff rotation, and Boston and Detroit are just better than their opponents.
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Western Conference
• Oklahoma City beats Phoenix 4-1
• San Antonio beats Portland 4-1
• Denver beats Minnesota 4-2
• Houston beats Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
The Suns played the Thunder tough in the regular season, but this isn’t the regular season. Portland has interesting young athletes, San Antonio has better ones. The Lakers would have won this series if healthy, but at least Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James is always entertaining.
Denver vs. Minnesota is the best first-round series in either conference — a real rivalry between teams that match up well. Both teams are big, talented and know how to level up in the playoffs. I will take the consistency of Denver — and the way Nikola Jokic enjoys putting up numbers on Rudy Gobert.
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Conference Semi-Finals
Eastern Conference
• Cleveland beats Detroit 4-2
• Boston beats New York 4-2
Do I feel…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2026-nba-playoff-predictions-full-120500375.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-18 12:05:00
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