Tuesday’s playoff schedule tests the premise that postseason experience reliably outweighs regular-season dominance. According to CBS Sports, the New York Knicks face the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of their first-round series, a pivotal contest after the Hawks stole home-court advantage. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs each carry a chance to clinch their respective series. The Celtics, a No. 2 seed, enter with the depth and defensive discipline that usually suffocates younger opponents, but the consistency of their shooters remains unreliable. The Spurs, ironically, rely on a veteran system often described as unflappable, yet face a younger, faster Memphis squad that has pushed them to the brink. The NHL playoffs add another layer of volatility, where goaltending variance can upend any series. The unresolved tension: whether Tuesday’s results validate the predictive power of seedings or reveal that playoff survival depends more on health and matchup fit than regular-season records.