The first round of the NBA playoffs is in the books, and not without some surprises. Boston is out (big one), Houston, too (less so) and injuries, a story in the first round, figure to play a role in the second. With the conference semifinals kicking off on Monday, let’s look at five burning questions about this stage of the postseason
Can the Knicks seize the moment?
Dateline, April 23: The Knicks are down 2–1 to Atlanta. Mikal Bridges is getting flamed. Mike Brown is getting fired. Legions of New Yorkers had taken to the trade machine to figure out what the Knicks would have to give up to land Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Two weeks later, all is right in Knicks-land. Bridges made shots in the final three games of the Hawks series. Brown made adjustments. And no one wants to trade Karl-Anthony Towns right now, for Antetokounmpo or anybody for that matter.
Can New York build on that? Boston’s ouster has cleared the field of a formidable opponent. The Knicks split the season series with Philadelphia (which was finished before the All-Star break) and the 76ers are a different team with Paul George back and Joel Embiid (finally) healthy. But New York can match the Sixers in star power and its bench was brilliant against Atlanta. Having the series start at Madison Square Garden won’t hurt, either.
The Knicks have an opening. Owner James Dolan put the pressure on back in January when he declared that the Knicks should—not could, should—win a championship. For now, the path to the NBA Finals got a lot smoother.
Can Detroit find enough shooting?
Among the reasons the Pistons were pushed to seven games by Orlando? Shooting, as in not enough of it. Detroit connected on 43.9% of its shots in the first round (10th among the 16 playoff teams) and 32.7% of its threes (12th). Isaiah Stewart (50%) and Duncan Robinson (40.5%) were the only regulars to shoot above 40% from beyond the arc, with Tobias Harris, Caris LeVert and Daniss Jenkins connecting on less than 20%.
They may need more against Cleveland, with its offense built around the singular talents of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. The Cavs didn’t look great against Toronto, which played the last two games without Brandon Ingram. But they have multiple players (Mitchell, Harden, Evan Mobley) who can go off, where Detroit’s offense is often overly dependent on Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons need a lot to go right to make a deep playoff run, including Jalen Duren rediscovering his offense. But with Cleveland’s twin towers (Mobley and Jarrett Allen) manning the paint, Detroit’s wings will need to make some outside shots.
Can Luka Dončić return to help the Lakers?
A few weeks ago it seemed all but certain that Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves had played their last games this season. Injuries (and ineffectiveness) by Houston opened the door for Reaves to make a mid-series return. Now all eyes are on Dončić, who has not played since straining his hamstring against Oklahoma City on April 2.
Officially, there is no update on Dončić. He will reportedly miss the first two games against the Thunder and is still considered week-to-week. The Lakers, understandably, will take a cautious approach with Dončić. The hamstring has been a nagging concern for most of the second half of the season. Still, with Oklahoma City’s All-NBA guard Jalen Williams battling a hamstring injury of his own, there may be an opening for Los Angeles to steal one of these first two games—giving Dončić more of a runway to come back.
Can Rudy Gobert do it again?
Few players had better first rounds than Rudy Gobert, who won his battle with Nikola Jokić, helping steer Minnesota to an improbable first-round series win. Up next: Victor Wembanyama, the 7' 4" phenom who has usurped Jokić’s position as the NBA’s top big man.
Gobert and Wembanyama have a long history, of course. The French big men have been friends for years, with Gobert serving as a mentor to Wembanyama. Gobert has gotten the better of the matchups in the pro ranks, going 6–2 against Wemby, averaging a double-double. Wembanyama has been no slouch, cracking 20 points in five of those games.
With Anthony Edwards out (for now) with a knee injury, Minnesota will attempt to grind out wins (again) against San Antonio. It will need a lot from Gobert, both as an on-ball defender on Wembanyama and rim protector against the Spurs’ swarm of aggressive guards. Gobert surprised everyone with his effective defense against Jokić. For the Wolves to advance to a third straight conference finals, he will have to do the same thing against Wembanyama.
Will the Joel Embiid vs. Karl-Anthony Towns rivalry heat up again?
Back in 2019, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns scuffled in the second half of Philadelphia’s win over the Timberwolves, a beef that later spilled over to social media. The two have buried the hatchet since then but this matchup looms large in the second-round matchup between the Sixers and Knicks. Embiid was outstanding in Philly’s rally to beat Boston, scoring 34 points in the Game 7 clincher. Similarly, Towns’s play helped New York surge to a comeback series win over the Hawks.
Historically, Embiid has gotten the better of the matchups with Towns. He’s 9–5 in head-to-heads, averaging 28 points per game to Towns’s 20.6. Still, this will be the first time the two have met in the postseason and while Embiid will likely see a healthy dose of Mitchell Robinson (Robinson averaged 14 minutes per game in the opening round) down the stretch it’s likely he will be grappling with Towns for position.
There are plenty of intriguing matchups in Sixers-Knicks. Tyrese Maxey vs. Jalen Brunson, VJ Edgecombe and Paul George against New York’s deep roster of defensive-minded wings, but in a physical series who wins the battle between Embiid and Towns could tilt it one way or the other.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Five Burning Questions for the NBA Playoffs’ Second Round.
