Road to the NBA Finals: NBA Playoff Predictions, Picks for Every Game 2 on Wednesday

Both of the No. 1 seeds in the NBA Playoffs are in action on Wednesday night, but only one has a chance to take a 2-0 series lead.

The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Phoenix Suns in Sunday’s series opener, and they’re currently favored by 17.5 points in Game 2. OKC has swept its first-round opponent in back-to-back years, and the Suns are in danger of becoming the third victim to the best defense in the NBA.

In the Eastern Conference, Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons are looking to rebound after losing Game 1 to the Orlando Magic. Detroit scored just 101 points in the loss, and Orlando – which has a ton of top-line talent – could be a frisky first-round opponent after falling short of preseason expectations.

Oddsmakers have the Pistons favored in Game 2, but are they the team bettors should trust to cover the spread?

If you’ve been following along with this column during the playoffs, you know that I’m betting on every game in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, and Wednesday’s two-game slate is no different.

Here’s a quick reminder of the rules for the Road to the NBA Finals challenge:

Bet on every game through the play-in tournament and playoffs
Bet can be a spread, total, moneyline, player prop or game prop
ENJOY POSTSEASON BASKETBALL!

Tonight, I’m eyeing one side and one prop as OKC and Detroit look to take care of business at home.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OVER 5.5 Assists (-154)

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why SGA is a great prop target in Game 2:

Even though he struggled shooting the ball in OKC’s Game 1 win, Gilgeous-Alexander still was an impact passer for the Thunder, dishing out seven assists. He’s now picked up at least six dimes in five consecutive games.

During the regular season, SGA had six, eight and eight assists in his games against the Suns, so I’m not all that worried about Phoenix ranking seventh in the NBA in opponent assists per game. With OKC fully healthy, SGA has plenty of options to target as a passer.

He averaged 6.6 assists per game during the regular season, and it’s worth noting that he recorded 15.0 potential assists in Game 1, even though he played just 29:11 in the win.

I think this line had moved down way too low for the MVP favorite in Game 2.

Orlando Magic +9.5 (-108) vs. Detroit Pistons

I’m taking the Magic in this Game 2 clash, even if they don’t win the game.

Orlando should be able to keep this matchup within double digits, especially since the Pistons struggled to find any offense when Cunningham was off the floor in Game 1. The star guard played over 40 minutes, and yet Detroit finished with just 101 points. All-Star center Jalen Duren was an afterthought on offense, and a combination of Tobias Harris and Daniss Jenkins as secondary scorers is extremely concerning for a No. 1 seed.

Detroit fell to 17-19 against the spread as a home favorite with the Game 1 loss, and the franchise has not won a home playoff game since the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. Yikes!

The Magic have not been healthy for most of the season, but when they have Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black an in the rotation, they are a bigger team with a lot of scoring options. Defensively, Orlando has turned things up a notch over the last two games, led by Suggs diving all over the floor and making plays.

I’m not totally bought in on Orlando keeping up this level of play, but I can’t lay this many points with a Detroit team that is so dependent on one player (Cunningham) for so much of its offense.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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