NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: Dates, Matchups, Game Times and TV Coverage Info
For the next two-plus months, you have one excuse for not being parked in front of your television watching basketball—tickets to the games. After all, the NBA playoffs are finally here, and going outside in late Spring and early Summer is overrated anyway.
After a season of tanking, disheartening injuries to some of the league’s biggest players and an Eastern Conference that mostly resembled a local recreation league, we’ve reached the long-anticipated grand finale of the NBA season.
The playoffs are where the narratives come to life, the superstars rewrite the sport’s history books and the crowd noise in the arenas drowns out the music played on every possession.
It means 1 a.m. buzzer beaters on the East Coast and lunch-time drama on the West Coast. It means Stephen Curry’s three-point barrages are more important and the NBA Jam tag-team efforts of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are all the more entertaining. It also means the big, bad San Antonio Spurs are back to defend their crown against all challengers.
Here is a glance at where you can catch the thrilling playoff action, from the all-you-can-eat buffet of the first round to the legacy-defining NBA Finals.
| Sunday, April 19 | (8) Brooklyn Nets at (1) Atlanta Hawks | 5:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Wednesday, April 22 | (8) Brooklyn Nets at (1) Atlanta Hawks | 7 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Saturday, April 25 | (1) Atlanta Hawks at (8) Brooklyn Nets | 3 p.m. | TNT |
| Monday, April 27 | (1) Atlanta Hawks at (8) Brooklyn Nets | TBD | TBD |
| Wednesday, April 29* | (8) Brooklyn Nets at (1) Atlanta Hawks | TBD | TBD |
| Friday, May 1* | (1) Atlanta Hawks at (8) Brooklyn Nets | TBD | TBD |
| Sunday, May 3* | (8) Brooklyn Nets at (1) Atlanta Hawks | TBD | TBD |
| Sunday, April 19 | (7) Boston Celtics at (2) Cleveland Cavaliers | 3 p.m. | ABC |
| Tuesday, April 21 | (7) Boston Celtics at (2) Cleveland Cavaliers | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| Thursday, April 23 | (2) Cleveland Cavaliers at (7) Boston Celtics | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| Sunday, April 26 | (2) Cleveland Cavaliers at (7) Boston Celtics | 1 p.m. | ABC |
| Tuesday, April 28 * | (7) Boston Celtics at (2) Cleveland Cavaliers | TBD | TBD |
| Thursday, April 30 * | (2) Cleveland Cavaliers at (7) Boston Celtics | TBD | TBD |
| Saturday, May 2 * | (7) Boston Celtics at (2) Cleveland Cavaliers | TBD | TNT |
| Saturday, April 18 | (6) Milwaukee Bucks at (3) Chicago Bulls | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Monday, April 20 | (6) Milwaukee Bucks at (3) Chicago Bulls | 8 p.m. | TNT |
| Thursday, April 23 | (3) Chicago Bulls at (6) Milwaukee Bucks | 8 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Saturday, April 25 | (3) Chicago Bulls at (6) Milwaukee Bucks | 5:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Monday, April 27* | (6) Milwaukee Bucks at (3) Chicago Bulls | TBD | TBD |
| Thursday, April 30* | (3) Chicago Bulls at (6) Milwaukee Bucks | TBD | TBD |
| Saturday, May 2* | (6) Milwaukee Bucks at (3) Chicago Bulls | TBD | TNT |
| Saturday, April 18 | (5) Washington Wizards at (4) Toronto Raptors | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Tuesday, April 21 | (5) Washington Wizards at (4) Toronto Raptors | 8 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Friday, April 24 | (4) Toronto Raptors at (5) Washington Wizards | 8 p.m. | ESPN 2 |
| Sunday, April 26 | (4) Toronto Raptors at (5) Washington Wizards | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| Wednesday, April 29* | (5) Washington Wizards at (4) Toronto Raptors | TBD | TBD |
| Friday, May 1* | (4) Toronto Raptors at (5) Washington Wizards | TBD | TBD |
| Sunday, May 3* | (5) Washington Wizards at (4) Toronto Raptors | TBD | TBD |
| Saturday, April 18 | (8) New Orleans Pelicans at (1) Golden State Warriors | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Monday, April 20 | (8) New Orleans Pelicans at (1) Golden State Warriors | 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Thursday, April 23 | (1) Golden State Warriors at (8) New Orleans Pelicans | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Saturday, April 25 | (1) Golden State Warriors at (8) New Orleans Pelicans | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Tuesday, April 28* | (8) New Orleans Pelicans at (1) Golden State Warriors | TBD | TBD |
| Friday, May 1* | (1) Golden State Warriors at (8) New Orleans Pelicans | TBD | TBD |
| Sunday, May 3* | (8) New Orleans Pelicans at (1) Golden State Warriors | TBD | TBD |
| Saturday, April 18 | (7) Dallas Mavericks at (2) Houston Rockets | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Tuesday, April 21 | (7) Dallas Mavericks at (2) Houston Rockets | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Friday, April 24 | (2) Houston Rockets at (7) Dallas Mavericks | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sunday, April 26 | (2) Houston Rockets at (7) Dallas Mavericks | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Tuesday, April 28* | (7) Dallas Mavericks at (2) Houston Rockets | TBD | TBD |
| Thursday, April 30* | (2) Houston Rockets at (7) Dallas Mavericks | TBD | TBD |
| Saturday, May 2* | (7) Dallas Mavericks at (2) Houston Rockets | TBD | TNT |
| Sunday, April 19 | (6) San Antonio Spurs at (3) Los Angeles Clippers | 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Wednesday, April 22 | (6) San Antonio Spurs at (3) Los Angeles Clippers | 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Friday, April 24 | (3) Los Angeles Clippers at (6) San Antonio Spurs | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sunday, April 26 | (3) Los Angeles Clippers at (6) San Antonio Spurs | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Tuesday, April 28* | (6) San Antonio Spurs at (3) Los Angeles Clippers | TBD | TBD |
| Thursday, April 30* | (3) Los Angeles Clippers at (6) San Antonio Spurs | TBD | TBD |
| Saturday, May 2* | (6) San Antonio Spurs at (3) Los Angeles Clippers | TBD | TNT |
| Sunday, April 19 | (4) Portland Trail Blazers at (5) Memphis Grizzlies | 8 p.m. | TNT |
| Wednesday, April 22 | (4) Portland Trail Blazers at (5) Memphis Grizzlies | 8 p.m. | TNT |
| Saturday, April 25 | (5) Memphis Grizzlies at (4) Portland Trail Blazers | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Monday, April 27 | (5) Memphis Grizzlies at (4) Portland Trail Blazers | 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Wednesday, April 29* | (4) Portland Trail Blazers at (5) Memphis Grizzlies | TBD | TBD |
| Friday, May 1* | (5) Memphis Grizzlies at (4) Portland Trail Blazers | TBD | TBD |
| Sunday, May 3* | (4) Portland Trail Blazers at (5) Memphis Grizzlies | TBD | TBD |
Postseason Storylines
Can Anyone Beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference?
It’s not entirely fair to the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are the juggernaut everyone else in the Eastern Conference playoffs should fear.
It’s not as if the Hawks (or any other team) are trotting out an all-time great in James, a playmaking point guard who can go for 50 points on any given night in Irving or a supporting cast that just so happens to include former Second Team All-NBA member Kevin Love.
Playoff experience is a question for some of the Cavaliers’ main cogs, but James directed the Miami Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals. There is no better player this side of the Spurs to serve as a team leader in the postseason than James.
After the team's win Wednesday night, James commented on the Cavaliers heading into the playoffs, per ESPN (via the Associated Press):
""We've been playing the right way -- win, lose or draw -- we've played the right way," James said. "We've stuck to our system and I think it's built some great habits for us going into the postseason."
"
This is not to suggest Cleveland will walk over the entire conference on the way to the Finals, but it plays a team under .500 in the Boston Celtics as a virtual warm-up round before things get more difficult.
On paper, the Chicago Bulls or Hawks could both realistically knock off the Cavaliers, but it will take a special performance from either to beat James in a best-of-seven series. Health is also a question mark for Atlanta with Paul Millsap dealing with a shoulder issue and Thabo Sefolosha out for the playoffs. Sefolosha likely would have been tasked with defending James.
Health is also always a question mark for the Bulls, as Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Mike Dunleavy, Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson all missed various amounts of time throughout the season. They all must be close to 100 percent to upset the Cavaliers.
Part of what makes the NBA playoffs so intriguing is the superstars. The entire Eastern Conference is focused on beating the league’s biggest one.
Did the San Antonio Spurs Machine Turn On Just in Time?
There was a time that many legitimately questioned whether the Spurs would even make the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference. In retrospect, those questions were hilariously misguided.
The Spurs went 12-3 in March and 7-1 in April. They enter the postseason having just lost an 11-game winning streak Wednesday and appear to be a basketball machine that comes to Earth every April, May and June to extinguish any title hopes the rest of the NBA may hold. That machine is just reaching peak capacity as the postseason begins.
Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports praised the Spurs’ incredible ability to turn it on down the stretch, and Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick seems to believe that San Antonio is destined for a Western Conference Finals matchup with the Golden State Warriors.
"Spurs gonna Spurs, man. Best organization in the business. Incredible the way they foster a player’s strengths, and help correct weaknesses.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) April 14, 2015"
With Tony Parker directing the show at point guard, Kawhi Leonard shutting down the opponent’s best player on a nightly basis, Tim Duncan defying everything we know about aging in the NBA and the majority of the supporting cast still in place that ended the Miami Heat’s experiment with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Spurs look ready to defend their crown.
Who wants to stand in their way?
Will the Western Conference Grind Impact the NBA Finals?
For as dominant as the Spurs and Warriors appear heading into the playoffs, there is something to be said for how daunting the Western Conference postseason picture looks from top to bottom.
Even the No. 8 seed has one of the league’s best players in Anthony Davis, who could put a scare in any opponent, and the No. 7 seed has former NBA champion Dirk Nowitzki and a formidable starting five surrounding him.
The East has two playoff teams with below .500 records, while the West boasts six playoff teams at least 20 games over .500.
Whether it is the Spurs, Warriors or someone else from a pack of potential title contenders, the Western Conference representative in the NBA Finals will be understandably tired. The path to the game’s brightest stage is loaded with potential land mines, and navigating that for three consecutive seven-game series and then running into someone like James in the Finals will be taxing.
It didn’t impact the Spurs last year. That does not guarantee it won’t play a role this year.
