Eastern Conference Playoff Predictions: 2026 First Round

The 2025-2026 playoff tournament will contain some of the most competitive matchups we have witnessed in the past few years.

In the Eastern Conference, the number one seed Pistons will be battling against the Orlando Magic. Despite the very noticeable gap between these two teams' records, this matchup will be very competitive. There is no doubt that the Pistons have a very strong team, but do they have what it takes to win this series? Short answer — no. Cade Cunningham is the only player that averages over twenty points per game on their squad. Cunningham is definitely a superstar, but he cannot carry his team in points for an entire seven-game series. When Cunningham is forced to carry the scoring load, he will be too exhausted for defense. On the Orlando Magic, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Desmond Bane all average more than twenty points per game. Even though the Pistons have Jalen Duren defending the paint, he cannot stop three elite scorers. The Magic will win this series in six games.

The two-seed Celtics vs. the seven-seed 76ers will be a completely different situation. The Celtics have had an incredibly successful season, and most of it happened without six-time All-Star, Jayson Tatum. Now, Jayson Tatum is healthy and Jaylen Brown is playing the best basketball of his life. The 76ers' star, Joel Embiid, currently has an appendix injury, so the fate of Philadelphia lies in Tyrese Maxey's hands. Under these circumstances, Philadelphia would be lucky to win one match in this series.

The New York Knicks are going against the Atlanta Hawks, and this matchup will not be as competitive as most are hoping for it to be. Even though these two teams have had close games in the playoffs before, this year will not be anything like those. The Knicks overpower the Hawks in almost every way, and they have been in this exact position many times before. In last year's playoffs, the New York Knicks were eliminated because they did not have enough players that they could trust. In the 2025-2026 season, Landry Shamet and Miles McBride have each increased their scoring by over three points per game. In addition to those incredible improvements, Jose Alvarado and Joran Clarkson has given the Knicks a sense of energy and chemistry that their fans have not seen before. The Atlanta Hawks have made many smart trades this season, like getting rid of Trae Young, but their new team does not have playoff experience. The Knicks will win this series in five or six games.

In past years, the four and five seed matchups in the playoffs have been extremely close, but this year is very different. The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired James Harden late in the 2025-2026 season, which significantly improved their record. Before February 3, 2026, the Cavs had a 58% winning percentage. James Harden improved this percentage to 70%. With the Cavs roster changes, they completely switched the way all the other NBA teams look at them. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a scary team, and Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, and the Raptors will not be able to compete. The Cleveland Cavaliers will come out on top in five games.

This year's first round of the NBA Playoffs will be filled with excitement, upsets, and many ups and downs. Even though I feel confident about my predictions, the 2025-2026 post-season can only be described in one word — unpredictable.