NBA Picks

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons will play Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in the NBA playoffs on Thursday night in Detroit. Game 1 went to the Pistons 111-101 on Tuesday, so they are now hoping to take a commanding lead in this best-of-7 set. With a ton of momentum from their first-round comeback against Orlando, they should be able to do it. My Cavaliers vs Pistons prediction is for the home team to win and cover. Detroit tipped off its playoff run in lackluster form, falling into a 3-1 series hole against Orlando. However, Cade Cunningham and company have heated up at just the right time. They had little trouble (aside from the start of Game 6) destroying the Magic over the last 3 games and mostly dominated the Cavs on Tuesday. The final margin may have been just 10 points, but let’s not forget that Detroit led 37-21 after 1 quarter and it only got close for a very brief stretch during the third quarter.

The Cavaliers did not play well at all, lacking aggressiveness (16 free-throws attempted to the Pistons’ 35) and turning the ball over left and right (19 TOs to the Pistons’ 11). Cleveland did not play particularly well in round 1, either, but managed to get past Toronto in 7 games. Donovan Mitchell has not scored more than 24 points in 6 straight games. Backup shooting guard Sam Merrill left the series opener with a hamstring injury and is questionable for Thursday. The Utah State product averaged 12.2 ppg during the regular season and logged more than 20 minutes per game in the first round. Especially if Jalen Duren heats back up for Detroit, the visitors could once again be in trouble.

Cavaliers vs Pistons prediction: Detroit -3 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -4.

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The Los Angeles Lakers head into Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder after a 108-90 loss in Game 1, where Oklahoma City controlled the game through defense, depth, and balanced scoring. Chet Holmgren led the way with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a relatively quiet night by his standards but still contributed efficiently. The Thunder forced 17 turnovers and knocked down perimeter shots consistently, creating separation without needing a dominant individual performance. On the other side, LeBron James scored 27 points to keep Los Angeles competitive early, but the offense stalled as the game progressed. Austin Reaves struggled significantly, shooting just 3-for-16, and the Lakers failed to generate consistent scoring, finishing with only 90 points.

Despite the lopsided result, Game 2 presents a different outlook, especially from a betting perspective. The spread remains high at 15.5, which is a difficult number to cover in consecutive playoff games, even for a team as strong as Oklahoma City. While the Thunder have now won five straight meetings, expecting another blowout requires near perfect execution again. The Lakers are likely to improve offensively through natural regression, particularly from players like Reaves, and should benefit from adjustments after seeing Oklahoma City’s defensive schemes firsthand. With playoff urgency increasing and veteran leadership guiding their response, Los Angeles is in a solid position to be more competitive. Even if the Thunder maintain control of the series, the margin should tighten, making this a more balanced contest throughout.

Lakers vs Thunder Game 2 prediction: Lakers +15.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to +14.5.

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Less than 2 weeks ago, New York had dropped back-to-back games to the Atlanta Hawks by 1 point apiece, making the Knicks the first team in NBA history to lose by 1 point in regulation in consecutive playoff games. Since that point, New York has flipped the switch and essentially been unstoppable on both ends of the floor. On offense, the Knicks racked up a combined 380 points over the final 3 games of the first round to close out the Hawks, including back-to-back performances where they won by 39 and 51 points respectively. It’s not as if Mike Brown’s defense has been slouching either, with New York holding opponents to under 100 points in 4 consecutive games since falling behind 2-1 to Atlanta. That momentum continued into a 137-98 beatdown of the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 on Monday, and the Knicks certainly look like the best team in the Eastern Conference at the moment. However, I fully expect New York to finally encounter some resistance in Game 2, especially since it feels like the series is in the balance for Philadelphia. 

For starters, the Knicks were absolutely white hot in Game 1 to an unsustainable degree. In fact, New York shot well over 60% from the floor and over 50% from beyond the arc, to go along with a +26 edge in points in the paint and a +11 edge on the glass. It was an ideal game in all areas for the Knicks, and while there certainly seems to be a real change in this team over the last handful of games, it’s hard to expect this insanely high level of play to continue for 48 more minutes on Wednesday. Philadelphia is going to punch back and we’ve also seen the Sixers raise their level in these situations in the Nick Nurse era (look no further than against Boston in the previous round). While Joel Embiid is out for this game, New York should still have a hard time staying in front of Tyrese Maxey in a spot where he has been brilliant over his short NBA career. The visitors should also hold the edge at the free-throw line in this game, as we saw in Game 1. With the 76ers no longer coming off a Game 7 and having to play on short rest, they should be settled in and ready to take the physicality to New York in a bounce-back situational spot on Wednesday. 

76ers vs Knicks Game 2 prediction: 76ers +10.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to 76ers +9.5 

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Anthony Edwards made a surprise return from injury in Game 1, turning all pre-series analysis upside down as nobody expected him to play the opening two games. Ant Man came off the bench and scored 18 points in 25 mins of play, hitting some important shots down the stretch to help his team pull off the upset win. Judging by how the opener went, we could be in for a tight series here as neither side led by more than 9 points. Pressure is now off Minnesota as we head into Game 2, they already got what they came for in San Antonio, splitting the first two games at worst. Apart from Edwards returning back to the starting line-up, I do not anticipate them making any more adjustments for Wednesday’s game.

It feels odd to say a player notching a triple-double left a lot to be desired, but that’s exactly how I feel about Victor Wembanyama after Game 1. Yes, he dominated defensively grabbing 15 rebounds and setting a new NBA postseason record with 12 blocks, but Wemby went just 5-for-17 from the field and 0-for-8 from three en route to just 11 points. For a player of his caliber that’s way too low in a game of this magnitude and he knows it. His Spurs teammates had mostly decent performances from an individual standpoint with 6 of them scoring in double-figures, but as a team they looked a step slow in reacting to certain things. Despite all the mishaps they still had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Champagnie’s open look from three was short. The spread has now gone down considerably after that Game 1 loss, San Antonio is favored by 9 points going into Game 2.

Wemby took the bulk of the blame in the post-game presser and that’s exactly what you want to hear from your best player. This loss happened at the best possible time for San Antonio if you ask me, it’ll be a much-needed wake-up call after they cruised through the 1st Round vs Portland. If they play with a sense of urgency and desperation in Game 2, I can definitely see them winning. Covering the 9-point spread will be a challenge, but I have a lot of faith in this team. Spurs even things up in dominant fashion.

Timberwolves vs Spurs Game 2 prediction: Spurs -9 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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