NBA Playoffs 2012 TV Schedule: Keys for Thunder and Celtics to Stay Alive

The San Antonio Spurs were the talk of Twitter on Tuesday evening, as they put on an absolute offensive clinic against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a dominating win to take a commanding 2-0 lead on Kevin Durant's crew. 

The Miami Heat's athleticism and ridiculously talented duo of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were too much for a resilient Boston Celtics group in Game 1. 

However, the C's and Thunder cannot be counted out yet—both are capable of making a surge against their respective opponents and make the conference finals much more interesting.

Here's what each club will need to do to stay alive against the Spurs and Heat.

Boston Celtics

Get chippy 

Advocating hard fouls isn't the thought here; the Celtics simply need to make James and Wade earn their baskets around the rim. 

Although the Heat are nearly unstoppable in the open floor, the Celtics must get back in transition and clog the lane for the two slashers to limit the amount of easy finishes they get at the rim. 

On offense, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have to impose their will by knocking down early shots and battling on the glass. 

Pierce has to be an offensive catalyst if the Celtics have any chance of making this a six- or seven-game series. He can't have anymore 5-18 nights. Getting to the paint and drawing fouls is key, and giving up easy points will frustrate Miami.

KG's already gotten under James' skin, so some physical play in the block will divert the Heat's deadliest weapon off the task at hand and potentially get him into foul trouble. 

Because Boston is the slower, more methodical team, they have to be aggressive on both ends of the floor to keep the Heat off their game. 

Get more offensive rebounds

Easier said than done, right? 

Regardless of how difficult it is, the Celtics have to crash the boards. If they don't get offensive boards with three or four guys crashing, it'll likely lead to easy run-outs for the Heat, but they can't stop them in transition anyway, so Boston might as well take its chances. 

They were outrebounded 48-33 in the Game 1 rout, something that can't happen again. 

Brandon Bass and Garnett should have a distinct advantage on the glass and have to compete with Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem on every possession. 

They have to take advantage of the absence of Chris Bosh. 

If they get more rebounds, that means Miami won't be able to get out and run as frequently, leading to a more controlled tempo that plays into the Celtics favor. 

Eastern Conference Schedule

Game 2: Celtics at Heat Wednesday, May 30th - 8:30 EST  (TV - ESPN)

Game 3: Heat at Celtics Friday, June 1st - 8:30 EST  (TV - ESPN)

Game 4: Heat at Celtics Sunday, June 3rd - 8:30 EST (TV - ESPN)

Game 5: Celtics at Heat Tuesday, June 5th - 8:30 EST (TV - ESPN)*

Game 6: Heat at Celtics  Thursday, June 7th - 8:30 EST (TV - ESPN)*

Game 7: Celtics at Heat Saturday, June 9th - 8:30 EST (TV - ESPN)*

*If necessary

Oklahoma City Thunder

Change defensive plan against pick-and-roll

The Spurs are eating the Thunder alive on the pick-and-roll. Yes, Tony Parker is a master at getting into the right position depending on how the picked defender moves around the screen. 

If he continues to knock down 17-footer after 17-footer, so be it. Still, there should always be a hand in his face. 

However, the Thunder have to be quicker with their rotations and cannot allow the wide open corner three whenever San Antonio wants it. 

Leaving that guy open is a cardinal sin of defense, and the Thunder have made the mistake numerous times. 

OKC is used to simply outscoring teams, but it's obvious that they won't be able to do that against the offensive genius of the Spurs. 

Switching on the pick more often wouldn't be a horrible idea, but the rotation has to be there, and all five men have to be on the same page.

More passing 

Certainly, the Thunder are a tremendous one-on-one team. Kevin Durant's the scoring leader and Russell Westbrook's a prolific scoring point guard. 

But as the Spurs are clearly exhibiting, much better shots can be had when more passes are made.

Westbrook ran into this problem during last year's playoffs—he simply cannot come down the floor and jack up a deep jumper in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock.

He's capable of getting off that shot whenever he wants.

They need to work the ball around, get Serge Ibaka touches down low and let James Harden run the offense. He's a great slasher, and his penetration could equate to more open looks for Durant and easy drives to the lane for Westbrook. 

Western Conference Schedule

Game 3: Spurs at Thunder   Thursday, May 31st - 9:00 EST (TV - TNT)

Game 4: Spurs at Thunder   Saturday, June 2nd - 8:30 EST (TV - TNT)

Game 5: Thunder at Spurs   Monday, June 4th - 9:00 EST (TV - TNT)*

Game 6: Spurs at Thunder   Wednesday, June 6th - 9:00 EST (TV - TNT)*

Game 7: Thunder at Spurs   Friday, June 8th - 9:00 EST (TV - TNT)*

*if necessary

Follow @ChrisTrapasso