NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: Known Dates, TV, Live Stream Coverage for Postseason
The second season in the NBA is ready to begin. All 16 playoff teams have finalized their spots, and the regular season is a thing of the past.
Action will begin on Saturday, April 18. You can click the link to see the entire playoff schedule on NBA.com. Playoff television coverage will be split between ESPN, ABC, NBA TV and TNT. Live streams of games on ESPN, TNT and ABC will be available at the networks' linked sites.
Here's a look at the final playoff matchups and the date each series will start, per Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated:
Most Intriguing First-Round Series
No. 3 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks
The Chicago Bulls have battled injuries all season, and they go into their first-round series with some physical woes. Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah missed the last two games of the season, and Taj Gibson had to leave the season finale because of a strained shoulder.
It seemed Noah was just resting to prepare for the postseason, but there's no official indication on Hinrich and Gibson's availability just yet. After the game, Gibson did tell reporters, per Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald, that he expects to feel better by Saturday.
Chicago does have a healthy Derrick Rose, and it will need him, as the Milwaukee Bucks' Michael Carter-Williams victimized the Bulls without their star point guard in the teams' last meeting.
In a 95-91 win on April Fools' Day, MCW had 21 points and 10 rebounds as he repeatedly took Rose's replacement, Aaron Brooks, to school. The Bucks have a good number of long, athletic players for the Bulls to contend with, not least of which is Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Milwaukee can get out in transition, it could be an exciting series.
MCW figures to have a tougher assignment in Rose, who is beginning to play with the energy and aggression the Bulls hoped to see all season.
From the quote Sam Smith of Bulls.com captured, Rose sounds raring to go:
The Bulls should be major favorites in this series, but how they hold up physically will tell a lot about how far they can go.
No. 3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 6 San Antonio Spurs
This matchup features two of the hottest teams in the NBA. Before losing the regular-season finale to the New Orleans Pelicans, the San Antonio Spurs had won 11 in a row. The Los Angeles Clippers have won seven in a row heading into the playoffs on a positive note.
The Spurs have seemingly flipped the switch over the last two weeks. Despite settling into the sixth seed, the team looks like one of the scariest opponents in the Western Conference. The team that emerges from this series will likely be looked at as the toughest potential opponent for the Golden State Warriors.
San Antonio took two out of three meetings during the season, but all that goes by the boards in the playoffs. Which team will step up when it counts the most?
This series starts on Sunday.
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