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 Western Conference playoffs continue, here’s what matters most and what to watch in all four series.
More coverage:
East takeaways | Schedules and results | Offseason guides
Game 2: Lakers 101, Rockets 94
Biggest takeaway from Game 2: The series felt as if it changed after the first possession of Tuesday’s Game 2, when Kevin Durant — out for the opener with a sore right knee — blocked Game 1 star Luke Kennard’s shot attempt. Yet as much of an impact as Durant had — 23 points on 6-for-9 shooting and six rebounds — Los Angeles followed pretty much the same formula to go up 2-0:
LeBron James, who finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, was the best player on the court for either team. Kennard (23 points) made up for some of the offensive power missing with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in street clothes. And L.A.’s defense held Houston under 100 points on just 40.4% shooting. Just to make things eerily similar to Game 1, the Lakers once again had a late-second-quarter collapse fueled by turnovers, letting the Rockets back in the game with a 12-0 run. And once again, Marcus Smart (25 points) hit a timely fourth-quarter 3-pointer, putting L.A. up by eight with 2:23 to go. — Dave McMenamin
Game 3: Lakers at Rockets (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, Prime)
What to watch in Game 3: After finishing the regular season 7-1 at home and going 30-11 overall at the Toyota Center, can the Rockets protect home court? Right before they went on that home surge, they suffered back-to-back losses to the visiting Lakers, on March 16 and 18. And with two days of rest between Games 2 and 3, will Durant — who coughed up nine turnovers Tuesday — see improvement on that knee and look even more like himself? — McMenamin
Game 2: Trail Blazers 106, Spurs 103
Biggest takeaway from Game 2: Victor Wembanyama took a nasty spill on a drive to the basket as Jrue Holiday defended with 8:57 left in the second quarter and appeared to land squarely on his chin. Wembanyama headed to the locker room several minutes later, and the team announced he had entered concussion protocol and would miss the remainder of the contest.
Wembanyama’s availability is now in question with the series shifting on Friday to Portland for Games 3 and 4 after a day off Wednesday followed by a travel day on Thursday. Veteran backup Luke Kornet is plenty capable of filling in for Wembanyama, but the club’s depth takes a hit. Newcomer Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk and Bismack Biyombo are viable options as backup centers, and the Spurs could opt to play rookie Carter Bryant at the 5 in smaller lineups. — Michael C. Wright
Game 3: Spurs at Trail Blazers (Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET, Prime)
What to watch in Game 3: The Wembanyama injury changes the dynamic, especially for San Antonio’s overall team defense, and provides a sliver of hope for a scrappy Portland squad that has hung tough despite being outmanned in terms of overall talent.
It’s worth noting that if Wembanyama is diagnosed with a concussion, he can’t return to participation without restrictions for at least 48 hours after the time of injury and until he completes the league’s required return-to-participation process. San Antonio has traditionally erred on the conservative side when bringing back players from injury, anyway. So, there’s a good chance Portland will face a somewhat undermanned Spurs squad at home for Game 3. — Wright
Game 2: Timberwolves 119, Nuggets 114
Biggest takeaway from Game 2: The Timberwolves stole the game they needed in Denver, thanks in large part to Rudy Gobert’s defensive work against Nikola Jokic. Gobert — early in the game and during several key possessions down the stretch — made life difficult for the three-time MVP. Jokic shot 1-of-8 when guarded by Gobert, 1-of-2 in transition and 6-of-10 against everyone else.
He surged in the third quarter after Gobert went to the bench with four fouls, but Gobert returned in the fourth quarter and forced a trio of late misses that set up Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards to drag Minnesota over the finish line with some offensive heroics. Those three combined for 70 points, sending the series back to Minneapolis tied 1-1. — Anthony Slater
Game 3: Nuggets at Timberwolves (Thursday, 9:30 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime)
What to watch in Game 3: How will Edwards’ knee continue to respond to a heavy workload series?
He missed 11 of the last 14 regular-season games for a persistent right knee issue that clearly continues to bother him. He grimaced and grabbed it at least twice in the first half. But it seemed to loosen and Edwards never needed to manage his court time.
He played a team-high 40 minutes, the most he has logged since early February. That’s 78 minutes in two games for Edwards after only three games total the previous month. He wasn’t hyper efficient, but he was productive and showed that elite burst when needed, finishing with 30 points, including a first-half surge that brought the Timberwolves back from an early 19-point deficit. He will get two days of rest before Thursday’s Game 3. — Slater
Game 1: Thunder 119, Suns 84
Biggest takeaway from Game 1: A series-opening Sunday afternoon tip in Oklahoma City isn’t a fair fight for a No. 8 seed that had to fight to punch its playoff ticket Friday night.
For the second straight year, the Thunder had all but sealed the victory by halftime of Game 1 in the first round. Oklahoma City, which was a 14.5-point favorite, led by 21 at the half, fueled by scoring 21 points off 10 Phoenix turnovers. It was the largest halftime lead of any playoff game this weekend, but it’s familiar territory for Oklahoma City, which led by at least 20 at the half three times during its title run last postseason.
To their credit, the Suns had a much more respectable showing than the Memphis Grizzlies did a year ago, when the Thunder rolled to a 51-point victory in Game 1. — Tim MacMahon
Game 2: Suns at Thunder (Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
What to watch in Game 2: The Suns need to find a solution to slow down Jalen Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander’s sidekick who is as healthy as he has been all season after coming off summer wrist surgery and dealing with recurring hamstring issues.
Williams finished with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and six assists in 29 minutes. It didn’t help Phoenix that guard Jordan Goodwin, who took the defensive assignment on Gilgeous-Alexander to start the game, got into early foul trouble. That forced the Suns to switch Dillon Brooks onto Gilgeous-Alexander and use lesser defenders on Williams, whose penetration into the paint created all kinds of problems.
The game got out of reach during Gilgeous-Alexander’s seven-minute rest to start the second quarter, a span in which Williams had four points and four assists. — MacMahon
