2026 NBA playoffs: Eastern Conference first-round takeawaysNBA InsidersMultiple AuthorsApr 26, 2026, 04:04 PM ET
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The 2026 playoffs are underway, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals. Which top seeds are cruising and which could be in danger of a first-round upset? Which stars are shining and which players are breaking through on the playoff stage?
As the Eastern Conference playoffs continue, here’s what matters most and what to watch in all four series.
More coverage:
West takeaways | Schedules and results | Offseason guides
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers tied with (5) Toronto Raptors 2-2
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Game 1: Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
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Game 2: Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105
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Game 3: Raptors 126, Cavaliers 104
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Game 4: Raptors 93, Cavaliers 89
Biggest takeaway from Game 4: Despite struggling from the field all afternoon, the Raptors made all the major plays down the stretch.
Brandon Ingram hit their only 3-pointer of the second half with just over two minutes remaining. RJ Barrett absorbed contact for a late layup. And the Raptors forced a turnover on an eight-second violation before taking the lead on a pair of Scottie Barnes free throws. Meanwhile, the Cavs’ stars struggled against Toronto’s defensive pressure: Donovan Mitchell shot 6-for-24, Evan Mobley went 4-of-11 and James Harden had seven turnovers.
Scoring was hard to come by all Sunday afternoon. Toronto missed its first 14 3-point attempts and went 4-for-30 (13.3%) beyond the arc in the first half while Cleveland shot 33% from the field in the first half with 11 turnovers. This was the first playoff game since 2015 in which neither team reached 40 points at halftime, according to ESPN Research. — Jamal Collier
Game 5: Raptors at Cavaliers (Wednesday; TBD)
What to watch in Game 5: Who can make the bigger adjustment on offense? Scoring was a struggle for both teams in Game 4 with a Sunday afternoon tip-off and relentless defensive pressure for both sides. The Raptors double-teamed the Cavs’ backcourt much more aggressively and used their size to jump passing lanes and create turnovers while the Cavs’ bigs consistently made everything tough on Toronto at the rim, daring the Raptors to shoot from beyond the arc.
The Raptors went 1-of-20 on wide-open looks from 3, the worst shooting percentage (minimum 20 attempts) by a team in a playoff game since ESPN began tracking them in 2014, and they still managed to win. Mitchell has repeatedly emphasized one point that will make or break Cleveland’s season: How will the team respond to adversity? With the series at 2-2, the Cavs will have to respond to win a series in which they dominated the first two games. — Collier
(6) Atlanta Hawks tied with (3) New York Knicks 2-2
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Game 1: Knicks 113, Hawks 102
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Game 2: Hawks 107, Knicks 106
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Game 3: Hawks 109, Knicks 108
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Game 4: Knicks 114, Hawks 98
Biggest takeaway from Game 4: Ball movement. Defense. Physicality. All the things that had been missing in the previous six quarters of playoff basketball for the Knicks showed up in droves. They harassed the Hawks at every opportunity, limited their good looks and unleashed two elements that had been underutilized for some time: Karl-Anthony Towns as a facilitator and OG Anunoby as an offensive option. Towns had a triple-double — the first of his playoff career — hitting cutters and Anunoby continued his strong play as the best Knick in these two road games in Atlanta. Before, Anunoby was doing enough to keep the Knicks around. Saturday, his teammates joined him and tied the series. — Vincent Goodwill
Game 5: Hawks at Knicks (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock)
What to watch in Game 5: This series has seemingly turned back in the Knicks’ favor with such a decisive victory. And it happened without a Jalen Brunson explosion. He turned his ankle in the third quarter but came back to finish out the night following a trip to the locker room. His five turnovers were largely uncharacteristic, meaning he’s about due for a signature performance. At the very least, he’s due for an efficient game — he hasn’t been over 50% shooting for a game this series. Expect him to at least attempt to put his stamp on the series Tuesday night back in New York. — Goodwill
(8) Orlando Magic lead (1) Detroit Pistons 2-1
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Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
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Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
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Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105
Biggest takeaway from Game 3: The Magic aren’t going away. In fact, they have been the tougher, more physical team for the majority of this series — especially in the paint. And that is incredibly concerning for Detroit.
But perhaps more troubling is that Desmond Bane’s 3-point shot is finally falling in this series. Bane, who shot just 3-for-15 from 3 across the first two games, buried his first six triples before finishing with 25 points. This is why the Magic sent four first-round picks and went all-in to get Bane; to space the floor and free up the inside for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Banchero did a bit of everything with 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. But it was Wendell Carter Jr. who set an early tone by outplaying both Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, getting under Stewart’s skin and fouling out Duren late in the game. Carter had 14 points and 17 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass. With Duren struggling again, Cade Cunningham, who had been terrific in the first two games, missed 12 of his first 17 shots and had a playoff career-worst eight turnovers in the first three quarters. But he scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth and helped spark a 26-8 run that erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and pushed the Pistons up one with 2:52 remaining. But Wagner scored five straight points and Detroit never recovered.
The Pistons are now in a 2-1 hole to the eighth seed, and the Magic continue to look like a completely different team since demolishing the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in to reach the playoffs. — Ohm Youngmisuk
Game 4: Pistons at Magic (Monday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock)
What to watch in Game 4: Over the next two days, the Pistons must rediscover the physicality, smothering defense and swagger that made them the top team in the East. Outside of seven blocks in the first quarter of Game 2 and the 30-3 run in the third quarter that won them that game, the 60-win Pistons have largely been absent for much of this series. They had a fourth-quarter run that gave them the brief lead Saturday, but the Magic responded right away.
The Magic are also giving the Pistons a dose of their own medicine with physicality inside the paint, smothering and annoying defense and a grinding effort on offense to get into the paint or to the free throw line to overcome any lack of shooting they might have. And they have a hyped home crowd fueling them.
Duren hasn’t looked like the first-time All-Star he was this season. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff even shook up his rotation early in the third quarter by replacing Duren with Paul Reed after Banchero drove in for a dunk. The Pistons have to find a way to unclog the paint and make more shots to help Cunningham. But as it has been in this series with Orlando, everything starts with defense and physicality. The Pistons just snapped the longest home playoff drought in history at 11 games by winning Game 2. They don’t want to have to return home for Game 5 facing elimination if they fall behind 3-1. — Youngmisuk
(2) Boston Celtics lead (7) Philadelphia 76ers 2-1
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Game 1: Celtics 123, 76ers 91
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Game 2: 76ers 111, Celtics 97
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Game 3: Celtics 108, 76ers 100
Biggest takeaway from Game 3: Boston has, for the better part of a decade, been carried to one playoff win after another by the dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. And on Friday in South Philly, that’s what happened again. It was a 10-point run by Brown — beginning with a steal and setting up a Derrick White bucket on a fast break, then scoring eight points in a row himself — that gave Boston separation for a final and decisive time late in the fourth quarter. Tatum hit a pair of massive 3-pointers to slam the door and give Boston back home-court advantage in this best-of-seven affair. — Tim Bontemps
Game 4: Celtics at 76ers (Sunday, 7 p.m., ET, NBC/Peacock)
What to watch in Game 4: The potential return of Joel Embiid? The superstar center got upgraded to doubtful on Thursday and wasn’t fully ruled out until a couple of hours before Friday’s tipoff. With another 48 hours to heal before Game 4, the door is open for Embiid to potentially make his return for the first time since undergoing an emergency appendectomy over two weeks ago. Beyond that, we’ve seen this series be dictated by Boston’s shotmaking, with great shooting games carrying the Celtics in Games 1 and 3 (both wins) and a rough one leading to a Game 2 loss. So which shooting version of the Celtics will show up? — Bontemps
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Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown come up big in Celtics’ ‘fun’ Game 3 win
