NBA Playoff TV Schedule 2014: Complete Viewing Guide for Round 1 Coverage
The 2014 NBA playoffs get underway on Saturday, April 19, and Round 1 promises to be filled with some thrilling seven-game series to kick off 16 squads' pursuits of the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
There is no question that the Western Conference is deeper, but the East has experienced a strong surge since the All-Star break after the majority of its postseason qualifiers sported losing records deep into the regular season.
Plus, the two-time reigning champion Miami Heat hail from the East and figure to be in the running for a three-peat. An NBA Finals rematch could loom with the San Antonio Spurs, whose aging nucleus has been supplemented by exceptional coaching from Gregg Popovich and capable, younger contributors to boost the team to the top of the West.
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Below is a look at the complete TV schedule for the opening round—because almost none of these series will be light on entertainment—and analysis of some of the marquee playoff teams.
| (6) Brooklyn at (3) Toronto | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| (6) Golden State at (3) LA Clippers | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| (8) Atlanta at (1) Indiana | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| (7) Memphis at (2) Oklahoma City | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| (8) Dallas at (1) San Antonio | 1 p.m. | TNT |
| (7) Charlotte at (2) Miami | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| (5) Washington at (4) Chicago | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| (5) Portland at (4) Houston | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (7) Memphis at (2) Oklahoma City | 8 p.m. | TNT |
| (6) Golden State at (3) LA Clippers | 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (8) Atlanta at (1) Indiana | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| (6) Brooklyn at (3) Toronto | 8 p.m. | NBATV |
| (5) Washington at (4) Chicago | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (7) Charlotte at (2) Miami | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| (8) Dallas at (1) San Antonio | 8 p.m. | NBATV |
| (5) Portland at (4) Houston | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (1) Indiana at (8) Atlanta | 7 p.m. | NBATV |
| (2) Oklahoma City at (7) Memphis | 8 p.m. | TNT |
| (3) LA Clippers at (6) Golden State | 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (3) Toronto at (6) Brooklyn | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| (4) Chicago at (5) Washington | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| (4) Houston at (5) Portland | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| (1) Indiana at (8) Atlanta | 2 p.m. | TNT |
| (1) San Antonio at (8) Dallas | 4:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (2) Miami at (7) Charlotte | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| (2) Oklahoma City at (7) Memphis | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| (4) Chicago at (5) Washington | 1 p.m. | ABC |
| (3) LA Clippers at (6) Golden State | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| (3) Toronto at (6) Brooklyn | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| (4) Houston at (5) Portland | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (2) Miami at (7) Charlotte | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| (8) Atlanta at (1) Indiana | 8 p.m. | NBATV |
| (1) San Antonio at (8) Dallas | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| (5) Washington at (4) Chicago | TBD | TBD |
| (7) Memphis at (2) Oklahoma City | TBD | TBD |
| (6) Golden State at (3) LA Clippers | TBD | TBD |
| (7) Charlotte at (2) Miami | TBD | TBD |
| (6) Brooklyn at (3) Toronto | TBD | TBD |
| (5) Portland at (4) Houston | TBD | TBD |
| (8) Dallas at (1) San Antonio | TBD | TBD |
| (1) Indiana at (8) Atlanta | TBD | TBD |
| (4) Chicago at (5) Washington | TBD | TBD |
| (2) Oklahoma City at (7) Memphis | TBD | TBD |
| (3) LA Clippers at (6) Golden State | TBD | TBD |
| (2) Miami at (7) Charlotte | TBD | TBD |
| (3) Toronto at (6) Brooklyn | TBD | TBD |
| (1) San Antonio at (8) Dallas | TBD | TBD |
| (4) Houston at (5) Portland | TBD | TBD |
| (8) Atlanta at (1) Indiana | TBD | TBD |
| (5) Washington at (4) Chicago | TBD | TBD |
| (7) Memphis at (2) Oklahoma City | TBD | TBD |
| (6) Golden State at (3) LA Clippers | TBD | TBD |
| (6) Brooklyn at (3) Toronto | TBD | TBD |
| (7) Charlotte at (2) Miami | TBD | TBD |
| (8) Dallas at (1) San Antonio | TBD | TBD |
| (5) Portland at (4) Houston | TBD | TBD |
Analyzing Playoff Landscape
Top NBA Finals Contenders
Based on their ability to flip a switch when it's time to turn it up, their past three Finals appearances and the presence of the game's best player in LeBron James, Miami is the favorite here, followed closely by the Spurs.
Both squads have had their fair share of difficulty juggling rotations due to granting rest to some of their big stars. They have done so while winning a lot of basketball games too.
The Heat have to be concerned about the health of superstar Dwyane Wade, who missed nine straight games before returning to the lineup for an April 12 loss to the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks. If his performance that night was a sign of things to come, at least he's in good form entering the postseason.
Wade finished with 10-of-14 shooting in that contest and 24 points, and as long as he can elevate his play as he has in postseasons past, he, James and Chris Bosh will be hard to beat.
Not enough can be said about the maneuvering Popovich has done in San Antonio. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker (to a lesser extent) were supposed to be on their last legs after losing the Finals in seven games to the Heat in 2013. That couldn't have been further from the truth, and now the Spurs are healthy, locked and loaded for another shot at the NBA title.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported what Popovich had to say about the organization's philosophy:
"We know that can't continue forever, because that's not the nature of the beast. But to look ahead and mourn when that day comes is kind of a waste of time. So we just try to be the best team that we can each year; and that doesn't mean you're going to win a championship every year. Those are pretty tough to win. A lot tougher than most people think."
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Since they came up a bit short last time, it is actually a bit of a conundrum for Popovich to figure out which players he can rely on most in his deep rotation. What stands out is how balanced San Antonio is and how well it plays as a team, ranking first in the league with 25.2 assists per game.
The Indiana Pacers have played some awful basketball toward the end of the season, so it's hard to even consider them legitimate contenders. However, they are still one of the best defensive squads in the Association and managed to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 13.
ESPN's Magic Johnson praised the Pacers for rising to the occasion, and ESPN Stats & Info pointed out a key number that bodes well for Indiana:
Oklahoma City has its own issues—namely, whether Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can coexist long enough to deliver a championship. Durant is a scoring machine, but Westbrook takes a lot of shots away from him.
Still, Durant gives the Thunder the best one-on-one scoring option, while Westbrook is a matchup nightmare at the NBA's deepest position in point guard. That one-two punch should be enough to boost OKC to the conference finals amid high expectations.
Strong Squads That Will Fall Short
Doc Rivers has done a masterful job guiding an injury-plagued Los Angeles Clippers team to the third seed in the West. With the league's No. 1 scoring offense, the Clippers could finally take a big leap forward.
As strong as LA has been, it won't be good enough to make it to the NBA Finals. The teams at the top of the conference—San Antonio and Oklahoma City—have cores of players who have been to the stage before, which should make all the difference.
Chris Paul may be the best point guard in the game, but he hasn't really won anything of note. There is an immense amount of pressure on him to do so, as ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne observed recently:
Until that happens—which won't be this year—Rivers' experience as a coach will only take the Clippers so far.
The Chicago Bulls continue to grind and somehow remain competitive even without their top offensive option in Derrick Rose. Coach Tom Thibodeau's defensive system keeps the Bulls relevant, and the players clearly buy in.
ESPN's Mike Greenberg praised Thibodeau for his prowess:
Since the East is meager, and given how poorly Indiana has played down the stretch, Chicago has a chance to make a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals. But the Bulls simply doesn't have the firepower at the other end of the court to hang with Miami.
No one in the NBA scores fewer points per game than the Bulls, which is not a sustainable model for success. The notion that defense wins championships is only true to an extent, and Chicago will have to look forward to 2015, when Rose will hopefully be healthy enough to lead the franchise back to ultimate glory.
Most Compelling Dark Horses
Two youthful backcourts headline the wild-card squads. Instead of starting with the superior West, let's give the Washington Wizards some love despite their status as the East's fifth seed.
With point guard John Wall and sharpshooter Bradley Beal serving as an electric duo, pro basketball is once again exciting and relevant in the nation's capital. That should please President Obama, a known enthusiast of the game.
Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was diplomatic in stating how the Wizards are set for the future with Wall and Beal in the fold:
There is nothing politically correct about the way Wall attacks in the open floor. He is relentless in creating shots for teammates or blowing by opponents to finish at the bucket, and his jump shot is also vastly improved. Trevor Ariza brings athleticism to the perimeter, has a versatile offensive game and is a stellar on-ball defender, helping the Wizards rank in the top 10 in scoring defense.
Drew Gooden has been a viable recent addition to the frontcourt rotation for Washington, giving the Wizards valuable depth to complement Marcin Gortat, Nene Hilario and the energetic Trevor Booker coming off the bench.
But Chicago is a tricky matchup, and the Wizards may have had bad fortune in rising up as the fifth seed to face the Bulls in Round 1.
Then there are the Golden State Warriors, whose tandem of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson could push them as far as the Western Conference Finals. Despite the strong job coach Mark Jackson has done, though, rumors have swirled about his job security.
Veteran big man Jermaine O'Neal expressed his dismay in a March 29 report by the San Jose Mercury News' Diamond Leung:
"...The No. 1 reason that I will come back and play another year is because of Coach Jackson. I'm absolutely, 100 percent positive about that. He makes it easy to come in this gym every day, and there's not a lot of coaches that do that. [...] To me, it's one of the most unfair things that I've seen in a long time. And it truly is a team that's 18 games over .500. Eighteen. And we're talking about firing a coach with 10, 11 games left?
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While that could be a distraction from the task at hand, Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher insists that the spat between Jackson and D-League-assigned assistant Brian Scalabrine shouldn't be a detriment:
It appears that O'Neal and the rest of the Warriors are all-in on Jackson, which is critical to the team's postseason success. Given that Golden State advanced to the conference semis a season ago, there's reason to believe it can push a little further this time around.
An argument could be made for a more detailed breakdown of other teams in the playoffs, but the ones analyzed above figure to be the most buzz-worthy and in the best position to contend for the ultimate prize. Three of the four top contenders have nuclei that have played in at least one NBA Finals series, and the Pacers are seeking to get past the Heat after falling in seven games last postseason.
Anything can happen in a seven-game series. The Wizards and Warriors are explosive and play strong enough defense to cause some early upsets, and the grit from the Bulls and Clippers will be intriguing to watch as those teams make their runs.
But until the Heat are dethroned, they are the team to beat. Without any consistent threats in the East, a second straight showdown with San Antonio seems very possible.
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