The Bounce: Which NBA playoff teams should already be panicking?

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksFirst-Round PredictionsHollinger's Playoff PreviewThe Bucks' Season From HellPlayer Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs Cade Cunningham didn't get much help as his Pistons lost Game 1 at home to the Magic. Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images Share articleThe Bounce Newsletter  | This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. On this date in 1986, Michael Jordan scored the most points ever in a playoff game with 63. It happened in a 135-131 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird said after the game, “That was God disguised as Michael Jordan.” You can take the memory-lane stroll here! The 2026 NBA playoffs tipped off this weekend! Seven of the eight home teams won, and that means we had one upset. Yes, the Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons as we all expected, based on this season’s trends. Let’s dive into games, look ahead and figure out where the Playoff Panic Meter hits for each losing squad (scale of 1-5). What happened? The Magic were all over the Pistons, and Cade Cunningham (39 points) needs some help. Who was the hero? Jalen Suggs. He set the tone from the start and was a tornado out there. Who needs to step up? Jalen Duren. Did anybody see him yesterday? He was supposed to be at Game 1, but we didn’t see the player who looked like an All-NBA big man. What’s the adjustment for Detroit? Slow down the pace and cut off the paint. It can’t get outscored by Orlando inside. A lot of that is Duren’s poor game. What happened? Victor Wembanyama put on a show, and the Blazers just didn’t have enough offense. Who was the hero? Wemby, duh. He set the Spurs franchise record with 35 points in a playoff debut with David Robinson and Tim Duncan in attendance. Also, you must watch this. Who needs to step up? Donovan Clingan. He had more 3-point attempts (three) than made shots in the paint (two). It’s asking a lot, but he has to be a big presence inside. What’s the adjustment for Portland? It has to knock down 3-pointers (10-of-38) to put pressure on the Spurs. What happened? Nikola Jokić put up another triple-double (25-13-11), and Anthony Edwards (knee) looked too hobbled to match. Who was the hero? Jamal Murray. He had 30 points, and 16 of them came from the free-throw line. He had Wolves defenders off-balance all game. Who needs to step up? Julius Randle. With Ant hurt, the Wolves need more offensive creation from Randle. His 16 points on 16 shots with just two assists isn’t going to get it done. What’s the adjustment for Minnesota? Ball movement. Just 21 assists on 40 buckets. It settled for too many shots after one pass and ignored swinging the ball to the weak side. What happened? Kevin Durant (knee) missed Game 1 and LeBron James’ 19 points and 13 assists led the Lakers to a surprise performance. Who was the hero? Luke Kennard — 27 points on 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-5 from deep. Who needs to step up? Alperen Şengün. He had 19 points on 19 shots and could not take advantage of Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes as his defenders. What’s the adjustment for Houston? Lock in defensively. It sounds simple, but the Rockets allowed the Lakers to hit 60 percent of their shots. So the 20 Lakers turnovers didn’t even matter. What happened? Jalen Brunson had 19 of his 28 points in the first quarter, and the Knicks seemed too big and strong for the Hawks. Who was the hero? Karl-Anthony Towns. He was phenomenal with 25 points, 14 boards and five assists. He had 11 in the fourth and 19 in the second half to help close it out. Who needs to step up? Nickeil Alexander-Walker. This was not the NAW we saw this season. He had 17 points on 17 shots and needs to do a better job breaking down the defense. What’s the adjustment for Atlanta? Get back on defense. New York has a good half-court offense, but you have to make it face a set defense. The Knicks had 22 fast-break points. What happened? The Celtics allowed just 16 points outside of the paint or the free-throw line and pretty much demolished the Sixers from the opening tip. Who was the hero? Jayson Tatum — 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to set the tone. Who needs to step up? Everybody not named Tyrese Maxey. He had 21 points, and no one else could find comfort on the floor. What’s the adjustment for Philadelphia? The Sixers have to hit 3-point shots (they made four) and turn Celtics mistakes into quick points (three points off 10 Boston turnovers). What happened? The Cavs busted this game open in the third quarter (36-22) and forced a usually careful Raptors team into 18 turnovers (22 points off them). Who was the hero? Donovan Mitchell — 19 of his 32 points came in the second half, and the Raptors couldn’t stop him. Who needs to step up? Scottie Barnes. He uncharacteristically hit three 3-pointers in the first half, and his line of 21 points and seven assists is fine. But he needs to be way more impactful. What’s the adjustment for Toronto? Run. Toronto forced 17 turnovers, but only three were live-ball turns. The Raptors led the league in fast-break points (18.9) and only had three in Game 1. What happened? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25, and Oklahoma City happily gave up 22 shot attempts to Dillon Brooks for 18 points. Who was the hero? Jalen Williams. He’s had a rough year because of injuries, but 22 points, seven boards and six assists in 29 minutes is the level of play OKC wants to see from him. Who needs to step up? Royce O’Neale. He has to let it fly (two shots in 23 minutes). What’s the adjustment for Phoenix? Not losing the turnover battle too much. It had 11 more turnovers (19-8) and 32 more points given up off turnovers (34-2) than OKC. Yikes. 🏆 Legacies! From Wemby to Cade to SGA to KD, I discussed legacies at stake in the playoffs. Including the idea of Jokić as Godzilla.  🗽 The KAT’s meow. Towns had a big Game 1 for the Knicks. His involvement moving forward is huge.  👑 Constantly in motion. It’s absurd that LeBron can keep doing this. But he never stops moving. ⏰ Dialing back? We might see less Caitlin Clark this season. The Fever plan to reduce her reps after her injury-plagued rookie year. Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass. Steve Kerr sounds like he might be done Something emotional happened for the Golden State Warriors on Friday night after the Suns knocked them out of the Play-In Tournament. It wasn’t just about their season being over and missing the playoffs. There was a moment when Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr huddled during a late stoppage of play with the game decided. We got the soundbite from the moment, with Kerr telling them, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen next, but I love you guys to death, thank you. Appreciate you.” Kerr’s contract is up at the end of this season, and there have been questions all year long about whether he’ll be back as the Warriors coach. After the game, Kerr was frank about his situation. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There’s a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.” Kerr, 60, has been Golden State’s coach since 2014; only Erik Spoelstra, who has been the Heat’s coach since 2008, has a longer tenure among current coaches. Kerr took over what Mark Jackson started to build with the young Warriors core and mutated it by inserting Draymond into the starting lineup when David Lee got hurt. What transpired over the next 12 years is one of the most successful stretches of basketball in the modern era.  His 604 wins are 28th all-time, but his .631 win percentage is fifth among those who coached at least a decade. His 104 playoff victories are sixth all-time, and he has the second-highest playoff win percentage (.684). He also has the sixth-most championships with four. Maybe Kerr is done with coaching, or just done with coaching the Warriors. His place in history will endure, regardless Awards finalists and schedule announced he NBA announced during yesterday’s NBC games the 2025-26 awards finalists and the schedule for some of the award announcements. Today, the Defensive Player of the Year will be named. Tomorrow, it will be the Clutch Player of the Year. On Wednesday, the Sixth Man of the Year will be revealed, followed by the Sportsmanship Award on Thursday and Most Improved Player on Friday. Here are the three finalists for the major awards: This mirrors everybody I included in the top three of my ballots. Except for one award. I had Derrick White just edging out Ausar Thompson for third place for DPOY. Other than that, there aren’t really any surprises for me here. We’ll analyze the awards decisions after each announcement. Since we’re here, let’s do a quick preview of today’s Game 2s. All times Eastern. Raptors at Cavs, Game 2, 7 p.m. (NBCSN/Peacock) | Cavs lead 1-0 Something to look for: The Raptors trying to win the points in the paint battle by getting 15-20 fast-break points. They only had 36 points in the paint in Game 1. Hawks at Knicks, Game 2, 8 p.m. (NBC/Peacock) | Knicks lead 1-0 Something to look for: The Hawks keeping the Knicks off the offensive boards. New York had just six offensive rebounds in Game 1 but managed to score 13 second-chance points. Nuggets at Wolves, Game 2, 9:30 p.m. (NBC/Peacock) | Nuggets lead 1-0 Something to look for: If Ant can’t be 100 percent, then how does Minnesota get him easy, quality shots? Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Zach Harper is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the NBA. Zach joined The Athletic after covering the NBA for ESPN.com, CBS Sports and FRS Sports since 2009. He also hosts radio for SiriusXM NBA and SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Follow Zach on Twitter @talkhoops