Basketball Intelligence For 5/8/26
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
THE PLAYOFFS: ROUND TWO
Playoffs winners and losers
James Herbert/Sam Quinn, CBS Sports
DET-CLE
Pistons take 2-0 series lead over Cavs thanks to defense and sharp 3-point shooting: Takeaways
The Athletic
Cunningham, Pistons not going to let up with 2-0 lead on Cavs
Eric Woodyard, ESPN
Tobias Harris is inspiring the Pistons with his work on and off the court
Hunter Patterson, The Athletic
4 takeaways: Cade Cunningham takes command as Pistons stake 2-0 series lead
Shaun Powell, NBA.com
Cavs’ Game 2 Observations: Poor Shooting, a Poor Start and a Poor Finish
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
For Cavaliers to make this a series, Donovan Mitchell will have to lead them — again
Jason Lloyd, The Athletic
Cavaliers Can’t Close In Detroit
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
Cavs not worried as James Harden struggles for 2nd straight game
Jamal Colliet, ESPN
Pistons’ Daniss Jenkins is NBA’s unlikeliest playoff hero
Sean Keane, Yardbarker
Evan Mobley is on a $50 million contract — so why is he a net negative through 9 playoff games?
Chris Fedor/Jimmy Watkins/Ethan Sands, cleveland.com
NYK-PHI
It looks like OG Anunoby is going to be OK
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School
How the Knicks are trying to unplug the electric Tyrese Maxey
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports
Three Sixers keys for Game 3 against the Knicks to avoid an 0-3 deficit
Gina Mizell, The Inquirer
OKC-LAL
A better whistle won’t solve Lakers’ real problems against Thunder
Dan Woike, The Athletic
Thunder use depth to take control of Game 2, series vs. Lakers
Tim MacMahon, ESPN
Thunder roll deep — and it shows as they go up 2-0 on Lakers: Takeaways
The Athletic
Lakers have only themselves to blame for being down 2-0 to the Thunder
Law Murray, The Athletic
4 takeaways: Chet Holmgren, Thunder guards deliver in Game 2 win over Lakers
Jeff Zillgitt, NBA.com
Lakers Playoffs Observations: Game 2 vs Thunder
Iztok Franko, digginbasketball
Lakers done in by turnovers in Game 2 as Thunder take 2-0 series lead
Benjamin Royer, OC Register
SAS-MIN
Fox & Wemby Aggressive Early on Offense and Looking Back at Spurs’ Active Defense in Game 2
Paul Garcia, Spot Up Shot
The Spurs look ‘nasty’ again
Matthew Tynan, Corporate Knowledge
THE DRAFT
Darryn Peterson says high doses of creatine led to cramping
Ramona Shelburne, ESPN
Why the stakes of this NBA draft lottery are enormous
Brian Windhorst, ESPN
2026 NBA Draft Combine: five players with most to prove in Chicago
Isaac Trotter, CBS Sports
The 2026 AWS NBA G League Combine Preview
Maxwell Baumbach, No Ceilings
G League Combine Preview
Ersin Demir, NBA Draft Newsletter
Top 15 NBA Draft prospects
John Hollinger, The Athletic
Draft scouting report: Mikel Brown Jr. will electrify and mystify
Christopher Kline, Fansided
NBA mock draft 12.0: First-round projections before 2026 lottery results
Bryan Kalbrosky, USA Today
What’s at stake for each NBA team in the NBA Draft lottery?
Oliver Fox, Fansided
The 2026 lottery will be can’t-miss television
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
TEAM-SPECIFIC
BKN: Vince Carter to Represent Brooklyn Nets at NBA Draft Lottery
Sameer Kumar, Sports Illustrated
BOS: Brad Stevens made clear he knows the Celtics’ flaws. And he’s never been afraid to make a big move
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
BOS: Celtics roster evaluation, Part 1: Taking a look at the reserves heading into the offseason
Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Globe
HOU: Unpacking the Rockets’ Outlook - 2026 Offseason Preview
Yossi Gozlan, Third Apron
NYK: Q & A: The Real-Life Diet of Josh Hart
Matthew Roberson, GQ
ORL: Magic faced familiar problem in Playoffs
Philip Rossman-Reich, World R Squared
LEAGUEWIDE
Ranking the Top 65 Potential 2026 NBA Free Agents
Eric Pincus, Bleacher Report
WNBA
WNBA 2026 Preview
Bob Bellotti, Basketball Points