play1:35Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game HighlightsDenver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
play1:53Pistons crush Magic in Game 7 to complete 3-1 series comebackThe Pistons take down the Magic in dominant fashion in Game 7 to take the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
play1:51Joel Embiid asks 76ers fans not to sell tickets ahead of matchup vs. KnicksQuentin Richardson joins “SportsCenter” to react to what Joel Embiid had to say ahead of the 76ers’ second-round matchup against the Knicks.
Windy: Luka ‘is not close’ to returning (1:02)Brian Windhorst joins “SportsCenter” with Scott Van Pelt following the Lakers’ Game 6 win over the Rockets to discuss Luka Doncic’s potential return against the Thunder. (1:02)
Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game HighlightsDenver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
Pistons crush Magic in Game 7 to complete 3-1 series comebackThe Pistons take down the Magic in dominant fashion in Game 7 to take the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Pistons take down the Magic in dominant fashion in Game 7 to take the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Joel Embiid asks 76ers fans not to sell tickets ahead of matchup vs. KnicksQuentin Richardson joins “SportsCenter” to react to what Joel Embiid had to say ahead of the 76ers’ second-round matchup against the Knicks.
Quentin Richardson joins “SportsCenter” to react to what Joel Embiid had to say ahead of the 76ers’ second-round matchup against the Knicks.
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
The NBA postseason started with 20 teams, four of which were eliminated during the play-in tournament. Eight more saw their seasons end in the first round, leaving us with eight teams in the second round, each of them eight wins away from the NBA Finals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons all had to win Game 7s over the weekend to advance, and the Oklahoma City Thunder swept their opening series.
Can the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves stop the juggernaut Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the West? Are the battle-tested Pistons still the No. 1 team in the East? And how do the injuries to Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards affect the West?
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps talked to two Western Conference scouts, breaking down the keys to each series, and our NBA insiders answered the questions that could determine who moves on to the conference finals — and who doesn’t.
Season series: The Thunder won all four meetings by an average score of 125.5-96.25. Only one of the four games was decided by single digits.
The Thunder swept the regular-season series against the Lakers in historically dominant fashion. The average point differential in the four meetings was 29.3 points. According to ESPN Research, that’s the largest average margin of victory against the Lakers by any team in a single season and the highest average point differential in a regular-season series between teams that met in the playoffs.
The Lakers, on the other hand, had no answers for the reigning and likely repeat MVP. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 83 points on 64.2% true shooting in 87 minutes in the three games he played against them. — Tim MacMahon
The first question is will Doncic, who has been out since April 2 because of a Grade 2 hamstring strain, return at all?
Despite trekking to Spain to receive multiple injections for the injury, as multiple sources told ESPN, his ramp up toward game action has not yet progressed substantially in the month he has been out. Doncic did not practice with the Lakers on Sunday in their first prep for OKC, according to coach JJ Redick, and he will be evaluated on a “week-to-week basis” moving forward, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
L.A. was able to build a 3-1 lead on Houston in the first round without Reaves or Doncic — but the Rockets aren’t the defending champs. Reaves was back for Games 4 and 5, and though he was clearly rusty, he still put up averages of 18.5 points and 4.0 rebounds (and had one of the biggest buckets in the closeout win with a spinning layup that steadied the Lakers in the first half after a Houston run).
There’s still a week before L.A. will host Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, which will be more than five weeks since Doncic’s injury. Will that be enough time for Doncic to ramp back up to be in the lineup?
And, a question that is just as pertinent, will the Lakers be able to win at least one game without him so there is still a series left to fight for if he is cleared to return? — Dave McMenamin
Scout’s take on the serious mismatches for the Lakers: “I could see the Lakers only winning a game. [The Thunder] are bigger, and their bigs are so much better — Chet [Holmgren] and [Isaiah] Hartenstein against [Deandre] Ayton and [Jaxson] Hayes, that’s such a mismatch.
“They have all of those perimeter defenders to give the Lakers trouble, and I already thought LeBron was slowing down as the Rockets series went along. And who is going to guard Shai? They have no one to do that.”
Best bet: Series correct score OKC 4-0 (+120*) (*Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change)
How they got here: Spurs defeated Portland Trail Blazers 4-1; Timberwolves defeated Denver Nuggets 4-2.
Season series: The Timberwolves won the season series 2-1. The Wolves won the first matchup by 13 points, though the Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama. The final two matchups were decided by one and three points, respectively.
That’s highly unlikely given what has transpired between these teams during the regular season. Minnesota enters this series without superstar Anthony Edwards and sharpshooting guard Donte DiVincenzo, two players who have given San Antonio fits all season. DiVicenzo is out for the rest of the postseason and Edwards is expected to sit out the first two games of the series. The Spurs need to take advantage.
Edwards averaged 36.7 points in the three regular-season meetings between the teams, with Minnesota winning two. In fact, the Timberwolves have won five of their past six games against the Spurs. So, despite injuries, the Timberwolves remain a formidable foe for the young, inexperienced Spurs.
Minnesota’s size and physicality in the frontcourt posed problems for San Antonio during the regular season, especially at power forward, where Julius Randle presents somewhat of a mismatch against Julian Champagnie. The 6-foot-9 Jaden McDaniels also presents a challenge for Spurs guards De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, along with backup center Naz Reid, who probably will be matched up mostly against Luke Kornet.
Given Rudy Gobert’s defensive performance against Nikola Jokic in the opening round, all eyes will be on the veteran against Wembanyama. But there’s a chance Minnesota could try to match Gobert against Castle and see if the second-year guard can hurt the Timberwolves as a shooter. — Michael C. Wright
The optimism around Edwards’ status is growing. He went through two light workouts over the weekend and, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported, could find his way back in the lineup by Game 3 or 4 in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves will try to steal one from the heavily favored Spurs without him, which would require a collective effort similar to the Game 6 clincher over the Nuggets.
That night, McDaniels provided 32 points to go along with elite defense on Jamal Murray, who went 4-of-17 shooting. Against the Spurs, McDaniels will be defending Fox and Castle, tasked with keeping them inefficient while also shouldering an increased scoring burden next to Randle.
In the November win over the Spurs, Randle had 22 points and 12 assists, carving up a San Antonio defense that, notably, didn’t have Wembanyama. Randle’s bulldozer style will be tested with the league’s best rim protector lurking and Gobert’s own defensive prowess will be challenged on the other end, as he shifts from a terrific series against Jokic to the Wembanyama assignment.
The Timberwolves don’t have to deliver Minnesota four wins without Edwards, who is determined to make his mark on this series. But they’ll make his job a whole lot easier if they can notch at least one before his return. — Anthony Slater
Scout’s take on battle-tested Minnesota: “I’m not going to pick against Minnesota pushing it far, because of everything they showed against Denver. I really wonder if San Antonio’s inexperience will show up when they go up against a real team that has playoff experience, which Minnesota has.
Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
The East’s best team was on the ropes. Orlando was 23 minutes away from advancing to the second round, leading the top-seeded Pistons by 24 points in Friday’s Game 6.
It took an all-time defensive stand, one that smothered Orlando into missing a playoff-record 23 consecutive shots, to keep Detroit’s season alive. In the process, the Pistons rediscovered the mojo that made them a 60-win team.
The Cavs were able to outlast the Raptors, who were missing two starters by the end of the series, by scoring in bursts Toronto could not keep up with. Detroit showed similar offensive struggles in the first round, which could play into Cleveland’s strengths if it can find a way to turn this series into a shootout.
“We’re going to have to be mentally and physically tough to beat this team,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “No. 1 seed. They’ve had a great year. They’re the favorites. We go in there as underdogs, which is a challenge, but I think it’s going to be a similar series [as Toronto] being able to handle their pressure, their rebounding, their force, their physicality. So hopefully this series prepared us for that.” — Jamal Collier
Scout’s take on the series’ clash of styles: “The Pistons are the tougher team, the more focused team, the more reliable team. … The question for Cleveland is, will they be willing to match the intensity? Will they handle the physicality? That feels like a major mismatch in Detroit’s favor.