NBA Playoff Schedule 2014: TV Coverage Guide and Full Bracket for Postseason

What's a first round without a few upsets?

As much as fans complain about competitive imbalance, the NBA title really is up in the air at the moment. All of the top teams have holes that could torpedo their NBA Finals aspirations.

That allows the teams a little lower down the pecking order a chance to spring a surprise or two.

Here's a look at the schedule for the first round. You can view the full playoff bracket on NBA.com.

Game	Home	Away	Date	Time (ET)	Channel
	No. 1 Indiana Pacers	No. 8 Atlanta Hawks
1	Indiana	Atlanta	April 19	7 p.m.	ESPN
2	Indiana	Atlanta	April 22	7 p.m.	TNT
3	Atlanta	Indiana	April 24	7 p.m.	NBA TV
4	Atlanta	Indiana	April 26	2 p.m.	TNT
5*	Indiana	Atlanta	April 28	8 p.m.	NBA TV
6*	Atlanta	Indiana	May 1	TBD	TBD
7*	Indiana	Atlanta	May 3	TBD	TNT
	No. 2 Miami Heat	No. 7 Charlotte Bobcats
1	Miami	Charlotte	April 20	3:30 p.m.	ABC
2	Miami	Charlotte	April 23	7 p.m.	TNT
3	Charlotte	Miami	April 26	7 p.m.	ESPN
4	Charlotte	Miami	April 28	7 p.m.	TNT
5*	Miami	Charlotte	April 30	TBD	TBD
6*	Charlotte	Miami	May 2	TBD	TBD
7*	Miami	Charlotte	May 4	TBD	TBD
	No. 3 Toronto Raptors	No. 6 Brooklyn Nets
1	Toronto	Brooklyn	April 19	12:30 p.m.	ESPN
2	Toronto	Brooklyn	April 22	8 p.m.	NBA TV
3	Brooklyn	Toronto	April 25	7 p.m.	ESPN2
4	Brooklyn	Toronto	April 27	7 p.m.	TNT
5*	Toronto	Brooklyn	April 29	TBD	TBD
6*	Brooklyn	Toronto	May 1	TBD	TBD
7*	Toronto	Brooklyn	May 3	TBD	TBD
	No. 4 Chicago Bulls	No. 5 Washington Wizards
1	Chicago	Washington	April 20	7 p.m.	TNT
2	Chicago	Washington	April 22	9:30 p.m.	TNT
3	Washington	Chicago	April 25	8 p.m.	ESPN
4	Washington	Chicago	April 27	1 p.m.	ABC
5*	Chicago	Washington	April 29	TBD	TBD
6*	Washington	Chicago	May 1	TBD	TBD
7*	Chicago	Washington	May 3	TBD	TNT
	No. 1 San Antonio Spurs	No. 8 Dallas Mavericks
1	San Antonio	Dallas	April 20	1 p.m.	TNT
2	San Antonio	Dallas	April 23	8 p.m.	NBA TV
3	Dallas	San Antonio	April 26	4:30 p.m.	TNT
4	Dallas	San Antonio	April 28	9:30 p.m.	TNT
5*	San Antonio	Dallas	April 30	TBD	TBD
6*	Dallas	San Antonio	May 2	TBD	TBD
7*	San Antonio	Dallas	May 4	TBD	TBD
	No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder	No. 7 Memphis Grizzlies
1	Oklahoma City	Memphis	April 19	9:30 p.m.	ESPN
2	Oklahoma City	Memphis	April 21	8 p.m.	TNT
3	Memphis	Oklahoma City	April 24	8 p.m.	TNT
4	Memphis	Oklahoma City	April 26	9:30 p.m.	ESPN
5*	Oklahoma City	Memphis	April 29	TBD	TBD
6*	Memphis	Oklahoma City	May 1	TBD	TBD
7*	Oklahoma City	Memphis	May 3	TBD	TNT
	No. 3 Los Angeles Clippers	No. 6 Golden State Warriors
1	Los Angeles	Golden State	April 19	3:30 p.m.	ABC
2	Los Angeles	Golden State	April 21	10:30 p.m.	TNT
3	Golden State	Los Angeles	April 24	10:30 p.m.	TNT
4	Golden State	Los Angeles	April 27	3:30 p.m.	ABC
5*	Los Angeles	Golden State	April 29	TBD	TBD
6*	Golden State	Los Angeles	May 1	TBD	TBD
7*	Los Angeles	Golden State	May 3	TBD	TNT
	No. 4 Houston Rockets	No. 5 Portland Trail Blazers
1	Houston	Portland	April 20	9:30 p.m.	TNT
2	Houston	Portland	April 23	9:30 p.m.	TNT
3	Portland	Houston	April 25	10:30 p.m.	ESPN
4	Portland	Houston	April 27	9:30 p.m.	TNT
5*	Houston	Portland	April 30	TBD	TBD
6*	Portland	Houston	May 2	TBD	TBD
7*	Houston	Portland	May 4	TBD	TBD

Note: * denotes game may not be necessary.

The four teams below will be underdogs headed into the postseason; however, they have the talent and/or first-round matchup to make some noise in the early stages of the 2013-14 playoffs.

Teams to Watch

Memphis Grizzlies

There were two Memphis Grizzlies teams this season. First, you had the Memphis Grizzlies who went 17-19 prior to Marc Gasol's return. Then, you had the Memphis Grizzlies who went 33-13 after the reigning Defensive Player of the Year was back to 100 percent.

This is a team that neither the Oklahoma City Thunder nor San Antonio Spurs wanted to see in the first round.

Revenge will definitely play on the Thunder's minds this year, after getting bounced in last year's conference semifinals in five games. Now, Russell Westbrook is healthy, and presents a major matchup problem for Memphis.

Mike Conley will no doubt get the majority of the defensive burden, and head coach David Joerger said that Tony Allen will rotate over to guard both Westbrook and Kevin Durant, per Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal:

As much as reining in Westbrook will be a part of the Grizzlies' game plan, Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk thinks this series hinges on Memphis' perimeter shooting:

"

For Memphis to pull the upset (and it’s possible) they will need a monster series from Mike Miller—spacing the floor has been the Grizzlies’ issue the past few seasons (only 17.1 percent of their shot attempts this season were threes, lowest in the league) yet Oklahoma City can take mental defensive vacations where they give up good look threes. If Miller (45 percent from three this season) and the Grizzlies (Courtney Lee matters here too) can hit enough threes they have a chance.

"

This series is bound to go to at least six games, no matter who the victor is.

Brooklyn Nets

Frank Franklin II

It wasn't that long ago that the Brooklyn Nets were the laughingstock of the league. They were a $180 million mistake.

Then everything started coming together. Jason Kidd grew more as a head coach, and he finally had a healthy roster at his disposal.

The Nets started the season 10-21. Between January and April, they saw a massive improvement, going 34-17 over those three-and-a-half months.

Brooklyn couldn't have hoped for a better opponent than the Toronto Raptors. Toronto has had a great regular season, but the Raptors remain largely untested in the postseason.

Now Toronto faces a team that was built with the express purpose of winning a title this season.

You wouldn't bet against Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett this time of year. The postseason is when they shine:

If the Raptors can get past the Nets, they'll prove the doubters wrong and demonstrate that they're a viable threat in the East.

If Brooklyn advances, though, it will be a handful for any team to knock out in the later rounds. Few teams have a lower floor and higher ceiling to their playoff potential.

Atlanta Hawks

John bazemore

The top-seeded Indiana Pacers aren't in total free fall at the moment, but they're pretty close. Winning three out of four to close out the regular season helps going into the playoffs. It doesn't erase everything that has happened over the last few months, though.

The Evan Turner trade hasn't worked out well, and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal intimated that Andrew Bynum could have helped the Pacers crumble from within:

"

By the way, I’ve spoken to a number of people who believe it’s not a coincidence the Cavs finally started to play better when Bynum left. Similarly, a lot of people believe it’s not a coincidence the Pacers crumbled once he arrived.

"

This all opens the door for the Atlanta Hawks to pull the historic 1 vs. 8 upset. They split their four regular-season meetings with the Pacers, so it's not as if either team comes in with a major advantage.

The key for the Hawks will be taking one of the first two games in Indiana. If Atlanta can snatch home court, it can plant that seed of doubt into the Pacers players' minds.

Even if the Hawks don't win this series, they may prove that Indiana's regular-season issues are too toxic to consider the Pacers a threat to dethrone the Miami Heat in the East.