Recent days have emphasized how wobbly things are in the NBA's Eastern Conference. But with big-picture thoughts comes potential change.

The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is here, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game of the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals. The No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers kicked off the East semis by taking a 2-0 lead over the No.

Hall scored on a breakaway set up by a stretch pass from Jack Roslovic at 8:24 of the third period Monday, giving the Hurricanes a two-goal cushion in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. It proved to be the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals that gave Carolina a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Donovan Mitchell thought this Cleveland Cavaliers team would be the one to get him to a conference final for the first time. Instead, this trip ended with the same heartbreak as his other three to this point in the playoffs.

"If the 2024-25 season had gone poorly, the Knicks would have had strong interest in dealing for Antetokounmpo, Begley notes. The Knick focus at the moment is far from Antetokounmpo; they host Boston in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series and hold a 2-1 series lead," he wrote.

The Knicks will try to take a commanding 3-1 lead against the reigning-champion Boston Celtics on Monday night. Find out how to bet Game 4 at the best New Jersey sportsbooks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seeds in the playoffs and owners of the best regular-season records in the NBA, find themselves in dire need of wins as they host Game 5s in the conference semifinals on Tuesday night.

The home team has won each game so far in the series, with the Maple Leafs winning two in Toronto to start and the Panthers winning Game 3. If Florida rallies, it could become the seventh reigning Stanley Cup winner in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to move on after going down 2-0; only three have done it after the first round.