NBA Playoffs 2015: Schedule Guide, Standings and Predictions for Round 1 Results

There's nothing like the playoffs in any sport. For NBA fans, the experience is so much more enticing with the games stretching over a nearly two-month span and a champion eventually crowned midway through June.

Saturday is the start of that grueling process for 16 franchises. The first round will separate the contenders from those that simply made it in due to the exorbitant amount of teams allowed into the postseason.

We're looking at you, Eastern Conference. Sure, a few surprises will likely take place, but the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers are the class of the East this season.

Out West, there is no telling what's about to take place, which is exactly what fans hope to see when postseason basketball tips off. With the action already underway, let's take a look at the full schedule, final standings and predictions for the first round.

Schedule

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
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

Final Standings

Eastern	W	L	PCT
Western	W	L	PCT
Atlanta Hawks	60	22	0.732
Cleveland Cavaliers	53	29	0.646
Chicago Bulls	50	32	0.610
Toronto Raptors	49	33	0.598
Washington Wizards	46	36	0.561
Milwaukee Bucks	41	41	0.500
Boston Celtics	40	42	0.488
Brooklyn Nets	38	44	0.463
Golden State Warriors	67	15	0.817
Houston Rockets	56	26	0.683
L.A. Clippers	56	26	0.683
Portland Trail Blazers	51	31	0.622
Memphis Grizzlies	55	27	0.671
San Antonio Spurs	55	27	0.671
Dallas Mavericks	50	32	0.610
New Orleans Pelicans	45	37	0.549

Predictions

Eastern Matchups	Prediction
Western Matchups	Prediction
(8) Brooklyn Nets vs. (1) Atlanta Hawks	Hawks
(7) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers	Cavaliers
(6) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls	Bulls
(5) Washington Wizards vs. (4) Toronto Raptors	Wizards
(8) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (1) Golden State Warriors	Warriors
(7) Dallas Mavericks vs. (2) Houston Rockets	Rockets
(6) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Los Angeles Clippers	Clippers
(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies	Grizzlies

Sleeper to Watch: Milwaukee Bucks

Hold on just a second, Chicago Bulls fans. I'm not saying the Milwaukee Bucks will advance out of the first round—take a peep at the above predictions—but this is certainly a team worth watching.

While most analysts are ready to see the matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs out West, the No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup in the East looks equally compelling. Young stars for the Bucks such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams will make this an entertaining series.

Carter-Williams will be an interesting matchup with Derrick Rose, whose health will be a huge question mark for the Bulls this postseason. Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal believes MCW has proved that he's a solid addition to the Bucks' young cast:

"

Suddenly, though, the swap of Knight for Carter-Williams has begun to look like a winner. In the past two weeks, Carter-Williams started stuffing the stat sheet with points, assists and rebounds, a surge that was reflected in the play of the Bucks, who won five of seven games to clinch the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs even before they dropped a 105-100 decision to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at the Bradley Center in a meaningless regular-season finale.

"

Speaking of Rose's injury issues, the superstar point guard sat out during the second half of the Bulls' season finale due to soreness in his knee. During his scattered time on the court this year, Rose has averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game—all below his career averages.

Heading into the playoffs, Rose said he's unconcerned about his health.

"I feel good," Rose said, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. "I'm not worried about it coming up again or anything. ... It's going to take some work to get my mental game ready because the playoffs are a totally different game. I think I'm ready for it."

What will ultimately put the Bulls over the top in this series is their defensive presence. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has built a juggernaut on that end of the court, with opponents shooting just 43.5 percent from the floor and averaging only 97.8 points this season.

Ironically enough, Milwaukee is nearly equal in both categories, but Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler will be the difference on both ends. Expect the Bulls to come away victorious, but the Bucks won't go down without a fight.

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