NBA Finals Schedule 2013: When and Where to Watch Entire Series

The San Antonio Spurs won't know their NBA Finals opponent for another two days, but they at least know what the Finals schedule will look like.

The dates, times and network for the NBA Finals is set in stone, even though the teams and locations are still far from following suit. The Indiana Pacers crushed the Miami Heat in Saturday night's Game 6, forcing a do-or-die Game 7 in Miami on Monday.

Whether or not the Finals is graced by the presence of King James, though, it should be well worth watching—a fitting coda to a year of great, defensive basketball. All three remaining teams adhere to that trend, thriving on the defensive end of the floor and exhibiting superior team chemistry.

Here's a look at when and where to catch the entire upcoming series:

Date	Matchup	TV Network	Time
Thursday, June 6	NBA Finals Game 1	ABC	9 p.m. ET
Sunday, June 9	NBA Finals Game 2	ABC	8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 11	NBA FInals Game 3	ABC	9 p.m. ET
Thursday, June 13	NBA Finals Game 4	ABC	9 p.m. ET
Sunday, June 16	NBA Finals Game 5*	ABC	8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 18	NBA Finals Game 6*	ABC	9 p.m. ET
Thursday June 20	NBA Finals Game 7*	ABC	9 p.m. ET

* if necessary

Home-court Advantage

Though the dates, times and viewing info is set for the entire NBA Finals, the physical where remains a question. We won't know who has home-court advantage until we know the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Miami Heat had the best record in the NBA, so if they win Game 7 against Indiana, they will host Game 1 on Thursday. If Indiana wins, however, San Antonio will host Game 1.

The NBA Finals deviates from the rest of the postseason, using a 2-3-2 home-court schedule. So if Miami wins, it will host Games 1 and 2, then 6 and 7 if necessary. The same goes for San Antonio should Indiana win Game 7 against Miami.

The 2-3-2 format seems like a minor change, but it has one major ramification. It gives the team without home-court advantage the right to host Game 5. According to NBA.com, the team that wins Game 5 in a 2-2 series goes on to win the series 83 percent of the time.

There's been a little bit of dissent in the Spurs' locker room regarding home-court advantage, too. Per CBSsports.com, Manu Ginobili is rooting for Indiana—because he wants home court—while Tony Parker doesn't care who wins the East:

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“It's not that we pull (for Indiana),” he [Ginobili] said. “I think this time it's different than before because of the home-court advantage. It is a big difference. It's not definitive. It doesn't mean that whoever has home-court advantage is going to win. But we all prefer to have a Game 7 at home than on the road if we could get to that point. But besides that, different styles, I think we can match up with both.”

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Regardless of which team wins the East, and which team ends up with home-court advantage, we seem poised for a great, defensive series in the NBA Finals. Leave a comment with your pick to win it all.