Which NBA Playoff Team Is in the Most Trouble Right Now?

The first round of the NBA playoffs has been a slugfest, and on The Rich Eisen Show, Rich, Chris Brockman, TJ Jefferson and Mike Del Tufo tried to figure out which contender is in the most trouble right now.

The trigger was Houston taking Game 4 in Los Angeles. The Lakers got Austin Reaves back and it did not work. Reaves came off the bench, went 4 of 16 from the field, 2 of 8 from three. Luka Doncic finished with one point and 0 of 2 from three. The Lakers as a team were 7 of 27 from deep.

Reed Shepard hit the dagger, drove for a Stones jumper after the Lakers cut a 13-point lead to three, picked LeBron James's pocket on the next possession and threw down a transition dunk with Kevin Durant sitting in street clothes.

Durant, by the way, is reportedly ruled out for Game 6.

Jabari Smith Jr., 22 years old, scored 22 and delivered the postgame quote of the night, saying he does not care who he plays or who is on his team, the mindset is that his team is better. LeBron, asked about it, basically refused to engage. The game is played between the four lines. Salty James, as Rich put it. Like Danny Glover.

The central question Rich posed: which team up 3-2 is in the most trouble. The Lakers, Celtics, Timberwolves, Cavaliers or Magic.

The consensus quickly landed on Orlando. Detroit was the one seed in the East pretty much all year for a reason. Orlando was a play-in team for a reason. Being up 3-1 felt fluky, and now Detroit has a Game 6 at home to even the series.

The Lakers came in second on the trouble list, mainly because Reaves's return scrambled what was working. Rich compared it to Joel Embiid coming back in the Sixers series, which threw Boston off in Game 4 before the Celtics figured it out in Game 5.

LeBron took some bad threes down the stretch even though he could not be stopped getting to the rim, finishing with 11 points in the fourth quarter. The settling for threes did not make sense to anyone on the desk. The conclusion: the Lakers are probably going to have to win in seven to win this series, and Houston is favored in Game 6.

From there, the desk ranked which series go the distance. The Lakers and Rockets felt like a lock for Game 7. Cavaliers and Heat felt like one. Pistons and Magic felt like one. The Knicks were flagged as the team that simply cannot do anything easily, even with a Game 5 blowout in their pocket against Atlanta.

Denver was a six and a half point favorite in Minnesota with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert questionable, which speaks to who the public actually trusts in that matchup right now.

Rich also took his usual swing at the format. He has been on the hill that the NBA needs to reseed the playoffs and is not climbing down. But everyone agreed on the bigger point. This first round has been one of the most entertaining in recent memory. Six of eight series alive, ratings up, the games great.

Unwatchable, Rich said with a smile, is not the word for it.