NBA's Top Seeds Face Stiff Game 1 Foes
The No. 1 seeds in the NBA Playoffs get their second-round series tipped off, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Oklahoma City Thunder and Cade Cunningham's Detroit Pistons host the Lakers and Cavaliers, respectively.
Here is your Lindy's Primer for May 5:
NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (7 p.m. ET, Peacock)
The Pistons are the No. 1 seed in the East, but it took a full seven games to get past the Magic and advance. The No. 4 Cavs also need to win a Game 7 to get here, and they did in holding off the Raptors.
Cade Cunningham's elite play (23.9 PPG, 9.9 APG) earned the Pistons' top spot in the East, and his play got them to the next round, with 32 points and 12 assist in Game 7. Veteran Tobias Harris had 30 as well.
Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 19 rebounds down low and Donovan Mitchell also scored 22 in Game 7 for Cleveland. The Cavs have swept the Pistons in the last three postseason meetings.
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
LeBron James and the Lakers took care of the Houston Rockets in a first-round mini-upset. But things get taken up a notch here against the defending champion Thunder. OKC, the top seed in the West, has premier depth and is led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They emphatically swept the Suns in the first round.
Related: Magic Johnson Raises Key Lakers Concern Before Conference Semifinals vs OKC
These teams faced off twice in the final two weeks of the regular season – The Thunder won them both by an average of 39.5 points. James paced the Lakers averaging 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the six games vs. Houston. He'll likely have to do even more with Luka Doncic (hamstring) still unavailable.
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NHL: Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
If Game 2 is anything like Game 1 of this Western Conference second-round series, you'll want to set the timer. The Avs outscored the Wild 9-6 in a wild opener to this series to secure a 1-0 lead. There were five goals in each period, and it was only the 10th playoff game ever with 15 goals, only the second since 1994.
Minnesota will be without key players Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin for the second game in a row. Meanwhile, Cole Makar returned from an injury for the Avs to score twice in Game 1, the only player with multiple goals in the high-scoring affair.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros (8:10 p.m. ET, TBS)
The Dodgers' offense had managed only 11 runs in five games before breaking out for eight runs in an 8-3 win over the Astros on Monday to open the interleague series in Houston.
Kyle Tucker and Alex Freeland homered on Monday, and Will Smith and Freeland had three hits. Now Houston must deal with Shohei Ohtani on the mound, where he owns a 0.60 ERA through five starts. Peter Lambert (1-2, 3.52 ERA) is the Astros' counterpart. He is 0-3 with a 10.13 career ERA vs. the Dodgers (22-13).
Houston (14-22) has 13 players currently on the injured list, including eight starters.
Related: Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Gets Concerning Injury News
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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM.