Night one of the NBA playoffs absolutely delivered Saturday, with the Lakers pulling off the upset against a Houston Rockets team surprisingly missing Kevin Durant, and Denver’s superstar duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray powering the Nuggets over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sunday’s NBA playoff slate features all four teams that made it out of the play-in tournament, with each conference’s No. 1 vs. No. 8 seed and No. 2 vs. No. 7 seed matchup.
In the nightcap, we will get to see the playoff debut of MVP candidate and likely Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs head into the postseason with the second-best NBA title odds, but Wembanyama and company will get their first look at postseason basketball against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In the East, the Detroit Pistons match up with the Orlando Magic, who after several big-time disappointments to close the year, made a resounding statement with a trouncing of the Charlotte Hornets to make it out of the play-in.
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First Pick: San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers – Under 221.5
Rundown: The Trail Blazers hot stretch to close the season to first bump the Los Angeles Clippers out of the eighth seed and then knock off the Phoenix Suns to clinch the seventh seed has been powered by defense.
With lockdown perimeter defenders like Toumani Camara and Jrue Holiday and solid rim protection provided by Donovan Clingan, Portland has found a winning formula on the defensive end of the court.
But you can take everything positive to say about the Trail Blazers defense and double it for the Spurs, who rank third in the league in defensive net rating.
All signs point to a slugfest of a series, where both teams’ playoff inexperience combined with how difficult things will be for both offenses will combine for several low-scoring games.
That trend will begin Sunday night, as Wembanyama and Trail Blazers All-Star Deni Avdija both show growing pains in their first playoff games of their careers.
Second Pick: Detroit Pistons -9 over Orlando Magic
Darwin Walker - The Sporting Tribune
#2 C Jarred Vanderbilt of the Los Angeles Lakers attempts a slam dunk during an NBA game against the Detroit Pistons on December 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
Rundown: This column did not give Orlando any chance at beating the Hornets in the final game of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, but the Magic showed something in their blowout victory.
The Magic’s young core’s offensive fit has been the main catalyst for their disappointing season, but they still have flashes of excellent defense that we saw against Charlotte.
However, the 60-win Pistons are just not a good matchup for the Magic.
Detroit had the second-best ranked defense in the NBA this season, and have rangy, physical wing defenders who match up well with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
The Magic were a poor road team all season, going 19-20 on the road, and head into Sunday’s matchup with a significant rest disadvantage, having played just two days ago compared to the week of rest the Pistons have had.
While Orlando can give Detroit a few close games in this series, it is unlikely to be tonight, as the Pistons cover with a double-digit victory.