Round 2 of the 2025 Playoffs Is Breaking the NBA

The Celtics are flailing, the Cavs are cratering and home teams can’t buy a win. The wildest second round in modern NBA history has turned the playoffs upside-down.

The defending champs are on the ropes, and they may be without Jayson Tatum for their comeback bid. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Remember long ago, 11 whole days in the past, when we still thought the 2025 NBA season was predictable? When it seemed like the teams that had dominated all season were still in control, and all those funny what-ifs around underdog victories were still in the realm of fantasy?

Yeah, I can’t remember that time, either. Fast-forward to today, and the league has been completely turned upside-down by one of the weirdest, wildest and most unpredictable second rounds in the history of the NBA playoffs.

For one thing, home teams are now 5-11 in Round 2 of the 2025 playoffs, which is tracking to not only be the worst winning percentage (31.3 percent) at home in any second round since the playoffs expanded to a 16-team format in 1984, but it would also be the only time in that span that home teams collectively had a record below .500 in Round 2 of the playoffs: