NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: Series-Altering Games You Can't Miss

There's nothing more dangerous than a team with its back against the wall in the NBA playoffs.

Win a game with your back against the wall, extend the series, and the pressure goes to your opponent.

Lose, and your either one step closer to elimination, or you are eliminated—which is a serious alteration to any series, to say the least.

There are a ton of interesting first-round matchups that can conclude in the next few days, but they can also continue with big games from the underdogs.

Here's a list of must-see, potentially series-altering games:

You can check out the whole schedule on NBA.com right here.

Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Clippers: Monday, May 7 at 10:30 p.m. EST

The Clippers seriously altered the feel of this series when they stormed back from what seemed to be an insurmountable lead and completed one of the most epic NBA playoff comebacks in history to win 99-98 on the Grizzlies' home floor in Game 1.

Home-court advantage was obliterated and it seemed like the Grizzlies' hopes went right along with it, but they fought back to win Game 2 and barely lost Game 3. This makes the next game incredibly important, as the Clippers could take a 3-1 stranglehold of the series, or the Grizzlies can steal one on the road and go back to Memphis all tied up.

This game could swing the momentum either way, and I can only imagine both teams are fully aware of that. Expect a great performance from both teams.

Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics: Tuesday, May 8 at 8 p.m. EST

The feel of this game will be extremely different depending on the result of the Game 4 matchup that gets underway today at 7 p.m. EST on TNT.

That being said, either way Game 5 is going to be an integral game in this series. If the Hawks win today they will go back to Atlanta with the series tied up at two, and then it's anybody's playoff series to take.

The Hawks are the younger, more athletic team, but the Celtics have championship experience on their side, so it would be interesting to see who a long series favors.

Now, if Boston wins today, Game 5 is still very integral. Obviously the Celtics would be able to end the series with a win, but the Hawks would have the chance to extend the series on their home court, go back to Boston and hopefully force a game seven—which would be in Atlanta.

The pressure to close out in Atlanta would be tremendous for the Celtics if they go into Game 5 up 3-1. If they go into the game 2-2 your guess is as good as mine as to what will happen from there.

Either way, it will be an incredibly exciting game.