NBA second round: eight teams remain

The shape of the 2026 NBA playoffs changed fast. The usual heavyweights did not just wobble — several of them are already gone. Boston is out. Denver is out. Houston, Phoenix, Portland, Atlanta, Orlando, and Toronto are out too, and that leaves a second round that feels a lot younger, weirder, and much less scripted than the bracket most people expected. (cbssports.com) ### Which eight teams are left? The conference semifinals field is Oklahoma City, the Lakers, Minnesota, San Antonio, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, and Philadelphia. In the West, that gives you Thunder-Lakers and Timberwolves-Spurs. In the East, it is Pistons-Cavaliers and Knicks-76ers. That mix alone tells the story — two traditional powers in the Lakers and Knicks, (cbssports.com)ext center of gravity. (nba.com) ### What made the first round feel so strange? A lot of the bracket broke against recent habit. The 76ers came back from a 3-1 deficit to knock out the Celtics in Game 7, which is the kind of result that instantly changes the tone of the whole postseason. The Lakers closed out Houston in six. Minnesota beat Denver in six. San Antonio handled Portland in five. Basically, the old “wait for the conference finals (nba.com)ready happened. (espn.com) ### What have we learned from the second round so far? The early games were not subtle. New York opened by crushing Philadelphia 137-98 behind 35 points from Jalen Brunson. Minnesota then edged San Antonio 104-102 in a game that became a Victor Wembanyama block-party even in a loss. On Tuesday night, Detroit beat Cleveland 111-(espn.com)sing into this round. (nba.com) ### Why is Oklahoma City so important here? Because the Thunder now look like the cleanest answer to the “who’s the favorite?” question. They swept Phoenix in the first round, then opened the Lakers series with a comfortable 18-point win. That matters because the Lakers usually turn every series into a half-court, star-driven grind. Oklahoma City did not let that happen. The Thunder’s edge is pace, le(nba.com) feel old in a hurry. (espn.com) ### Why are the Knicks suddenly in the middle of everything? Because New York did not just win Game 1 — the Knicks detonated the game. A 39-point margin against Philadelphia is not normal at this stage, and Brunson’s 35 points made the opener feel less like a coin-flip series and more like a warning shot. The Knicks were already one of the East’s best teams. Now, with Boston gone, there is real space for them to think bigger than “nice run.” (nba.com) ### Are the Spurs and Pistons ahead of schedule? That is the fun part — maybe there is no “ahead of schedule” anymore. San Antonio already won a round, and Wembanyama just set a playoff single-game record with 12 blocks even though the Spurs lost Game 1 to Minnesota. Detroit, meanwhile, walked into Cleveland and stole home court immediately. Those are not cute development stories. Those are contender behaviors. (nba.com) ### So what is this round really about? It is about succession. The bracket now has LeBron James and the Lakers still hanging around, but the bigger story is that the next wave is not waiting politely. Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Detroit, and even this version of New York are pushing the playoffs away from the old Celtics-Nuggets axis and toward something less settled. (espn.com) this does not feel like a normal narrowing of the field. It feels like a handoff. The second round started on May 4 and May 5 with four Game 1s, and the bracket already looks like a fight over who gets to own the league’s next era. (usatoday.com)