NBA second round starts May 4

The NBA playoffs are in the part people actually remember. The second round starts Monday, May 4, and the field is down to eight teams. Two series open tonight — Knicks vs. (nba.com)istons vs. Cavaliers starting Tuesday. (nba.com) ### Which series start first? New York hosts Ph(cbssports.com)etroit opens against Cleveland at 7 p.m. ET, then Oklahoma City gets the Lakers at 8:30 p.m. ET. The format is the usual 2-2-1-1-1, so the higher seed gets Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home. (nba.com) ### Why does this bracket feel a little strange? Because a couple of favorites are gone already. Philadelphia came back from 3-1 down to knock out Boston in Game 7, and Detroit also climbed out of a 3-1 hole to eliminate Orlando. ESPN notes that (nba.com)1 deficits in the same round. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City had the least dramatic path possible — a first-round sweep of Phoenix. (cbssports.com) ### What’s the loudest East story? Probably Knicks-76ers — and not just because of the basketball. Philade(nba.com) are restricted to residents of the Greater Philadelphia area, with residency checked by credit card billing address and outside-area orders subject to cancellation and refund. Basically, the Sixers are trying to stop their own arena from sounding like Madison Square Garden South. (nba.com) ### Why is that even necessary? Because Knicks fans travel, and because this matchup already has e(cbssports.com)a had the opposite experience — seven games, a comeback from the brink, and a much heavier physical and emotional load. That usually gives a series a weird tone right away: one team arrives fresh, the other arrives battle-tested. (nba.com) ### What about the West? Thunder-Lakers is the star-power matchup, but the seeding gap is real. Oklahoma City is the No. 1 seed and swept in round one. The Lak(nba.com)rwolves is different — less glam, maybe, but probably messier in a good way. San Antonio beat Portland in five, while Minnesota took out Denver in six. (espn.com) ### Is there one series that could swing the whole playoffs? Thunder-Lakers has the biggest “this changes everything” energy. If Oklahoma City handles Los Angeles, the bracket starts to look orderly again. If the Lakers(nba.com)s into experience versus youth. But Spurs-Timberwolves has real upset potential too, especially with Anthony Edwards upgraded to questionable for Game 1 and Victor Wembanyama already functioning like a playoff gravity machine. (nba.com) ### So what matters most tonight? Tone. Not standings, not old narratives — t(espn.com)k glow fades fast. If the Timberwolves punch first in San Antonio, that series stops looking like a clean Spurs progression story. Second rounds are where the playoffs stop being about survival and start being about who can actually win the whole thing. (nba.com) ### Bottom line The bracket is set, but it doesn’t feel settled. Two comeback teams are still alive, one top seed looked untouchable, and one series is heated enough that a team is policing ZIP codes. That’s a very good way to start a second round.