PREVIEW: The sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons bring their surprising 44-38 record into Madison Square Garden for a first-round playoff matchup against the third-seeded New York Knicks (51-31). Detroit, which won three of four regular season meetings against New York, utilizes its fourth-ranked defense against rim attacks while capitalizing on their fifth-ranked frequency of drives to the basket. Cade Cunningham has dominated this matchup, averaging 30.8 points against the Knicks this season while establishing himself as the engine driving Detroit's remarkable 30-win improvement from last year. The Pistons will need complementary scoring beyond Cunningham with sharpshooter Malik Beasley potentially playing a crucial role...

PREVIEW: The Denver Nuggets welcome the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers to Ball Arena for a fascinating first-round playoff matchup between teams with identical 50-32 records. Denver enters with the league's top-ranked rim attack efficiency and passing game according to ShotQuality data, looking to leverage Nikola Jokic's versatile skillset against a Clippers defense that allows a high volume of three-point attempts. The Nuggets, despite their recent coaching change with David Adelman replacing Michael Malone, won all three games under their new leader and hope to maintain momentum on their home court. The Clippers counter with their own impressive statistical profile, ranking first...

PREVIEW: The Milwaukee Bucks visit the Indiana Pacers on Saturday for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, renewing a Central Division rivalry that saw the Bucks win the regular season series 3-1. Milwaukee enters on an eight-game winning streak despite missing All-Star guard Damian Lillard, who's ruled out for the opener as he recovers from deep vein thrombosis but could return later in the series. The Pacers, ranked second in pick and roll frequency and passing according to ShotQuality data, will rely on point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.61 and has averaged 19.4...

PREVIEW: The No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) face the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) in what promises to be a thrilling first-round playoff matchup at Crypto.com Arena. The Timberwolves enter the series with an 8-1 run to finish the season and boast the sixth-ranked high-frequency three-point shooting team (45.5% of attempts), led by Anthony Edwards who averaged 28.2 points and connected on 36.2% of his long-range shots. Minnesota's defensive prowess shows in their seventh-ranked ability to limit opponents' three-point attempts, though they struggle with allowing high-quality looks from deep (ranked 24th). The teams split their regular season series 2-2, with...