{"id":583574,"date":"2026-04-14T12:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/583574\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:12:16","slug":"2026-nba-playoff-picks-experts-predict-the-play-in-tournament-and-first-round-matchups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/583574\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NBA playoff picks: Experts predict the play-in tournament and first-round matchups"},"content":{"rendered":"


The 2026 NBA postseason tips off Tuesday, when the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> host the Miami Heat<\/a> and Phoenix Suns<\/a> host the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> in night one of the play-in tournament. Which East team will get one step closer to the 8-seed, and which West contender will secure a matchup with the 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Our NBA experts are picking Tuesday’s games, plus every play-in showdown and first-round series.<\/p>\n

Jump to:<\/p>\n

Play-in tournament<\/a><\/p>\n

East first round<\/a><\/p>\n

West first round<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Play-in tournament\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> (7) vs. Orlando Magic<\/a> (8)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Magic<\/p>\n

Jamal Collier: 76ers<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: 76ers<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: 76ers<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Magic<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: 76ers<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: 76ers<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: 76ers<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Magic<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: 76ers<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Magic<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Magic<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Magic<\/p>\n

Final Tally: 76ers 7, Magic 6<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets<\/a> (9) vs. Miami Heat<\/a> (10)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Heat<\/p>\n

Jamal Collier: Hornets<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Heat<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Hornets<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Hornets<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Hornets<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Hornets<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Hornets<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Hornets<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Heat<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Hornets<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Hornets<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Hornets<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Hornets 10, Heat 3<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns<\/a> (7) vs. Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> (8)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Suns<\/p>\n

Jamal Collier: Trail Blazers<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Suns<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Trail Blazers<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Trail Blazers<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Suns<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Suns<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Suns<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Suns<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Suns<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Suns<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Suns<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Suns<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Suns 10, Trail Blazers 3<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

LA Clippers<\/a> (9) vs. Golden State Warriors<\/a> (10)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Clippers<\/p>\n

Jamal Collier: Clippers<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Clippers<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Clippers<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Clippers<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Clippers<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Clippers<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Warriors<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Clippers<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Warriors<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Clippers<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Clippers<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Clippers<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Clippers 11, Warriors 2<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

New York Knicks<\/a> (3) vs. Atlanta Hawks<\/a> (6)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Knicks in 7<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Knicks in 5<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Knicks in 7<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Knicks in 6<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Knicks 12, Hawks 0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> (4) vs. Toronto Raptors<\/a> (5)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Cavaliers in 7<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Cavaliers in 5<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Cavaliers in 7<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Cavaliers in 6<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Cavaliers in 5<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Cavaliers 12, Raptors 0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets<\/a> (3) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> (6)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Nuggets in 6<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Nuggets in 5<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Nuggets in 5<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Nuggets in 6<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Nuggets in 7<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Nuggets in 6<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Nuggets 12, Timberwolves 0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> (4) vs. Houston Rockets<\/a> (5)<\/p>\n

Jerry Bembry: Rockets in 7<\/p>\n

Vincent Goodwill: Rockets in 5<\/p>\n

Baxter Holmes: Rockets in 6<\/p>\n

Zach Kram: Rockets in 6<\/p>\n

Tim MacMahon: Rockets in 6<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin: Rockets in 6<\/p>\n

Anthony Slater: Rockets in 5<\/p>\n

Ramona Shelburne: Rockets in 6<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears: Lakers in 6<\/p>\n

Michael C. Wright: Rockets in 7<\/p>\n

Ohm Youngmisuk: Rockets in 7<\/p>\n

Eric Moody: Rockets in 5<\/p>\n

Final Tally: Rockets 11, Lakers 1<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

]<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NBA postseason tips off Tuesday, when the Charlotte Hornets host the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[255586,255175,255585,6417,2242,11949,8174,1753,4576,352,135021,2243,5050,38268,1055,8173,11951,355,361,6402,11950,2113,6415,6406,2116,99,2970],"class_list":{"0":"post-583574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-255586","9":"tag-2026-nba-playoffs","10":"tag-2026-play-in-tournament","11":"tag-atlanta-hawks","12":"tag-boston-celtics","13":"tag-charlotte-hornets","14":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","15":"tag-denver-nuggets","16":"tag-detroit-pistons","17":"tag-espn","18":"tag-expert-picks","19":"tag-golden-state-warriors","20":"tag-houston-rockets","21":"tag-la-clippers","22":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","23":"tag-miami-heat","24":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","25":"tag-nba","26":"tag-new-york-knicks","27":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","28":"tag-orlando-magic","29":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","30":"tag-phoenix-suns","31":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","32":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","33":"tag-sports","34":"tag-toronto-raptors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}