The Detroit Pistons will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena. Later, the Oklahoma City Thunder face the Los Angeles Lakers at 8:30 p.m. ET at Paycom Center. Both matchups feature injury concerns and heavy betting lines.
The 2026 NBA playoffs advance to the second round with two key Game 1s scheduled for Tuesday. The Pistons, led by Cade Cunningham, advanced past the Orlando Magic with a 3-1 comeback, winning Game 7. The Cavaliers, featuring Donovan Mitchell, survived the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 at home after nearly losing a 2-0 lead. Kevin Huerter is questionable for Detroit with an adductor injury, according to CBS Sports previews. FanDuel lists the Pistons as 3.5-point favorites with an over/under of 215.5 points; money line has Detroit at -149 and Cleveland at +125. Tipoff is at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, streaming on Peacock and Fubo (try for free). SportsLine's model, which has simulated the game 10,000 times, projects the under on the total, hitting in 52% of simulations after it landed in three of four regular-season meetings between the teams. Detroit trended under in 54% of its games this season. Pick: Pistons -3.5, per CBS Sports experts. In the West, top-seeded Thunder host the fourth-seeded Lakers after sweeping Phoenix Suns (average margin 17.3 points, final 131-122 on April 27) and Lakers beating Houston 98-78 in six games. Oklahoma City is a 15.5-point favorite with over/under at 213.5; money line Thunder -935, Lakers +616. Luka Doncic (hamstring) is ruled out for Los Angeles, and Jalen Williams (hamstring) misses Game 1 for OKC with no timeline, per reports cited by ESPN. The model favors under, projecting 212 points (53% simulations), following Lakers' under trend in eight of last 10. Pick: Lakers +15.5. Games stream on Peacock and Fubo.
