The postseason's two top seeds -- the Thunder and Pistons -- can take 2-0 series leads on Thursday night
By Jasmyn Wimbish May 7, 2026 at 1:00 pm ET • 2 min read 
Getty Images We've got a pair of Game 2s in the NBA playoffs on Thursday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to pull even with the Detroit Pistons, while the Los Angeles Lakers look to make their matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at least more competitive.
The Cavaliers went on a run late in their Game 1 loss to the Pistons, but it ended up being too late as Detroit's stingy defense forced Cleveland into 19 turnovers. The Cavs might've found a rhythm at the end of Game 1, but they'll need to replicate that over 48 minutes to steal a road win against the Pistons.
Meanwhile, the Lakers looked overwhelmed against the Thunder, which was to be expected given the talent discrepancy in this series. We could be looking at a sweep here, unless the Lakers get superstar Luka Dončić back to make this matchup more compelling.
Here's the schedule and a prediction for each matchup:
NBA games today: May 7 playoff schedule
Odds via FanDuel, all times ET
- Game 2: Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (-3.5), 7 p.m. -- Prime Video
- Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (-15.5), 9:30 p.m. -- Prime Video
Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 2 prediction
The Pistons played with a level of physicality that we expected from them in the first round. Jalen Duren still hasn't been able to break through offensively. However, he did rack up seven offensive boards and showed that, despite Cleveland's size with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, Duren's strength wins out in those matchups.
The Cavaliers have a far better offense than the Pistons faced in the first round against the Magic, but Detroit's defense can cause similar issues to those Cleveland faced against Toronto. This series is going to be about which style wins out: Detroit's defensive-minded tactics, or Cleveland's high-powered offense. In the end, I'm going with the Pistons to get another win at home before this series shifts to Cleveland. Pick: Pistons (-3.5)
Lakers vs. Thunder Game 2 prediction
Until Dončić returns, I don't think this series will be very competitive, and Game 1 (a 108-90 Thunder win) proved that. Austin Reaves is still clearly rusty, and players the Lakers got great production out of against the Rockets -- Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart -- struggled to get anything going against a relentless OKC defense.
Even LeBron James' 70.6% shooting night wasn't enough to put a dent in what was a 21-point lead for the Thunder. The demoralizing realization for the Lakers is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't even have that dominant a performance. He put up 18 points on 53% from the floor, but Chet Holmgren was the one who led this OKC team in the win. The mismatches he was able to exploit in Game 1 mean that he could be in store for a massive series going forward. Pick: Thunder (-15.5)
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