Hour 2: Which NBA Playoffs Matchup is the Most Intriguing?
First Take
ESPN Radio
4.0 • 5.7K Ratings
🗓️ 14 April 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
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| 0:32.6 | Welcome back to first take four NBA playoff series are set and all four will tip off on Saturday. |
| 0:38.8 | Starting in the East, the Knicks will face the Hawks in the first round. |
| 0:42.5 | New York took two of the three games in the regular season and will look to win a playoff |
| 0:47.2 | series for the fourth straight year. |
| 0:49.5 | Elsewhere, the Raptors return to the postseason for the first time in four seasons and will match up with the Cavs. |
| 0:55.8 | Toronto swept the season series 3-0, winning each of those games by double digits. |
| 1:01.8 | Moving over to the West, the Nuggets and the Timberwolves face off in one of the most anticipated series of the first round. |
| 1:09.4 | Nuggets have won 12 straight, but Minnesota is made |
| 1:12.4 | back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals. And finally, the Nugget, the Battle of |
| 1:18.4 | the OGs here, Kevin Durant and the Rockets, LeBron and the Lakers, fourth playoff meeting between |
| 1:23.5 | KD and King James, but L.A. may be without Luca Donchich and Austin Reed as those two |
| 1:28.9 | are both recovering from injuries. So a lot of fun matchups here, guys. Perk, which is the most |
| 1:34.6 | intriguing first round series? Lakers in Houston. And that's easy. That's easy, Courtney. And here's |
| 1:43.1 | why. Because it's a lot of individual things that could happen in this matchup. You're talking about 41-year-old LeBron James carrying this team after carrying this Lakers squad to possibly upsetting as being a heavy underdog. |
| 2:04.6 | You're looking at Kevin Durant, a guy that was traded there to move the needle to get the |
| 2:09.0 | Rockers ahead of the game who's supposed to win this series, but can he lead this team? |
| 2:14.1 | And then I'm going to the sideline. |
| 2:15.8 | I'm looking at JJ Reddy, a guy that has been calling out players, especially as role guys, like a D'Andre Aiton. Without Luca, without Austin Reeves, can you max out D'Andre Aiton? I understand it's been a roller coaster with him, but D'Jay Aden, Monty Williams, got the best side of D'Andre Atenon. The Andre Aiton was a starting center when they went to the NBA finals with the Phoenix Suns. |
| 2:39.0 | And then I'm looking at Coach E. May Udoka. |
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