Darren & Vic’s Takes: NBA Playoffs Continue

Published: Saturday, May 16, 2026

by Darren Worrell and Victor Lisboa

The finale of Darren and Vic’s Takes is here. In this edition Darren and Victor predict the rest of the 2026 NBA Playoffs and who will be crowned the NBA champions. So, for the last time let’s get into the takes.

Darren: Western Conference Headlines

Thunder Sweep Lakers

As much as I’m a LeBron James fan deep down, I knew the Lakers didn’t have a chance in this series. Without their star player, Luka Doncic the series hasn’t gone as planned.

Of course, you have the best player ever to play in the NBA, James on the floor, but 30 points from him isn’t enough anymore. His teammates needed to step up and don’t get me wrong; they did to an extent, but the defending champions’ depth overpowered the Lakers whenever they made a run.

Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain were amazing to watch, and I don’t know who they’ll face in the conference finals, but it should be a tough challenge. Two questions that linger in my mind are what’s next for LeBron James? Did we see the king play in his final NBA game?

Spurs vs Timberwolves Update

This series has been great to watch and based on the outcome of every game so far, I predict it is going the distance. The Spurs will clinch the series at home and face the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Timberwolves won as well; however, I feel the Spurs match up better. In the regular season, the Spurs beat the Thunder three times.

Most teams say they don’t fear anyone, but if there’s any team, the Thunder should fear; it is the Spurs. They work well together and honestly who is stopping Victor Wembanyama?

NBA Finals Prediction

In the NBA Finals, there’s no doubt in my mind the Knicks are coming out of the east after seeing the way they dismantled each opponent. The Knicks pose a challenge for any team.

In the west, this is a tough one. Honestly, the safe answer will be OKC, but I think the Spurs have the potential to make it as well. As far as winning the championship, since LeBron was eliminated, I want the Knicks to win.

I’m from New York and let’s just say we haven’t won anything in a long time. So, it would be good for the city and the state if the Knicks won.

Victor: Eastern Conference Headlines

New York Knicks Update

When New York went down 2-1 in Atlanta, myself along with many other Knicks fans were feeling trepidatious about what was looming. The Atlanta Hawks made a late season run, and entered the playoffs.

However, after trading away Trae Young, who had been the cornerstone of the franchise since the Hawks traded for him on draft night in 2018, the Hawks were very much seen as a rebuilding bunch.

Yet, one that was able to remain competitive with a collection of young talent building around their new star Jalen Johnson, who made his first All-Star Game this season. The Hawks were able to pull off two impressive back-to-back wins, each by one point.

The 12-year veteran guard CJ McCollum, who had been acquired as part of the Young trade to Washington, was pivotal in games two and three for Atlanta, as he hit the game winning shot in both games.

He combined for 55 points in those two upset wins, but otherwise, you can see the youth and inexperience as well as a lack of long chemistry with the team. The Knicks flipped a major switch in game four, where Head Coach Mike Brown seems to have unlocked a successful formula for this team.

Coach Brown decided to play Karl-Anthony Towns at the top of the key more, as he draws pressure from the defense with his three-point ability. However, it’s been Towns as a facilitator that has opened up the offense.

Brown appears to recognize Towns’ ability to pass, which wasn’t particularly well known, but is now on full display, and it reminds many of when Brown was the Interim Head Coach for the Warriors when Draymond Green was in a similar role.

The Knicks ended up winning the next three games with an unrealistic combined point differential of +96 in those games. The hot streak didn’t end there for New York.

Their next opponent for round two was the division rival Philadelphia 76ers, after Philadelphia came back from a 3-1 deficit in round one, to defeat the Celtics in a playoff series for the first time since 1982.

Philadelphia was no match for the Knicks, though, as they ended up sweeping the 76ers and have won their last seven games, and Towns has racked up 56 assists in the winning streak.

New York now awaits the winner of Detroit-Cleveland, to know who their conference finals opponent will be. The Knicks have been resting since Monday and will have almost a week of rest.

However, there are two simple but major factors that give me confidence in New York against both teams. The Cavaliers’ backcourt is too inconsistent, and James Harden’s turnovers have been detrimental in their losses, and Knicks have all the essentials to exploit that.

Detroit on the other hand, doesn’t have a reliable second scorer alongside Cade Cunningham, which makes the offense ineffective and creates poor spacing in which the Knicks used against Atlanta to push the ball in transition to overwhelm their opponent.

NBA Finals Prediction

Of course, I revealed earlier that I have the Knicks coming out of the east, as long as they can remain healthy. OG Anunoby is listed as day-to-day.

Assuming they make the finals. I think it’s going to be a great battle with, I predict, the Thunder. Call me crazy but in my opinion, Knicks could win especially if Jalen Willaims is still out dealing with the hamstring injury, but I expect a close series.

Ultimately, I’d put my money on OKC coming out on top, simply because they’ll have the best player in the series, and they’ll be able to match New York’s depth.

It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Darren these last couple of years and I can’t thank him enough for doing this with me, best of luck in your future endeavors!

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