NBA Playoffs 2015: Updated Bracket Results, Standings and Postseason Schedule

Thursday's batch of NBA playoff action features the top-seeded Golden State Warriors and enough storylines to make a fan's head spin.

It's early, but observers can see how this postseason will go if the opening salvos of action are any sign.

Out West, the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs appear headed for a classic. It seems like business as usual for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls but perhaps not so much for the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks.

Thursday, three teams look to go up 3-0 on the opposition and slam the door on any hope. Whether or not the door shuts is worth a closer look.

2015 NBA Playoffs Schedule and Bracket Results

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup	Time (ET)
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	Hawks, 99-92	TNT
Wednesday, April 22	(8) Brooklyn Nets at (1) Atlanta Hawks	Hawks, 96-91	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	Cavaliers, 113-100	TV
Tuesday, April 21	(7) Boston Celtics at (2) Cleveland Cavaliers	Cavaliers, 99-91	ABC
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.	TNT
Tuesday, April 28 *	(7) Boston Celtics at (2) Cleveland Cavaliers	TBD	ABC
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	Bulls, 103-91	ESPN
Monday, April 20	(6) Milwaukee Bucks at (3) Chicago Bulls	Bulls, 91-82	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	Wizards, 93-86	ESPN
Tuesday, April 21	(5) Washington Wizards at (4) Toronto Raptors	Wizards, 117-106	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	Warriors, 106-99	ABC
Monday, April 20	(8) New Orleans Pelicans at (1) Golden State Warriors	Warriors, 97-87	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	Rockets, 118-108	ESPN
Tuesday, April 21	(7) Dallas Mavericks at (2) Houston Rockets	Rockets, 111-99	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	Clippers, 107-92	TNT
Wednesday, April 22	(6) San Antonio Spurs at (3) Los Angeles Clippers	Spurs, 111-107	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	Grizzlies, 100-86	TNT
Wednesday, April 22	(4) Portland Trail Blazers at (5) Memphis Grizzlies	Grizzlies, 97-82	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

Bracket with standings available at ESPN.com.

Thursday Predictions

Pelicans Stand Tall at Home

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans need a stand.

A two-game binge in Golden State produced a 106-99 loss in Game 1 and a 97-87 outcome two nights later. The first was perhaps the most difficult to swallow, as Davis poured in a game-high 35 points, but the Pelicans lost the rebounding battle and turned the ball over 14 times.

For Stephen Curry, the Warriors seem to understand how dangerous the Pelicans can be at home, per STATS LLC (via ESPN.com): "The grind-it-out kind of feel that these games were (in Oakland), you expect it's gonna be the exact same thing if not tougher in New Orleans. I'm sure they'll get some life being at home and feeling their home crowd. ... We know it's not gonna be easy regardless of how well we play."

In fact, in their most recent meeting at the Smoothie King Center, the Pelicans notched their first win against the Warriors this season.

As CBSSports.com's Matt Moore notes, the Pelicans are right there with the Warriors despite history:

"

OK, let me slow this down. The Warriors had the BEST HOMECOURT POINT DIFFERENTIAL SINCE MJ’S BULLS. And thee Pelicans hung.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 21, 2015"

Now at home, look for the Pelicans to rally with strong team defense and a better effort from the floor, including limiting turnovers.

Prediction: Pelicans 98, Warriors 90

Cavaliers Crush Celtics 

The series record may not show it, but the Boston Celtics are putting up a strong fight against the Cavaliers, all things considered.

As expected, Boston touts the team defense necessary to fluster LeBron James and the Cavaliers, but as the 99-91 Game 2 outcome shows, the Celtics just don't have a player who can take games over at will.

Still, this won't stop James and Co. from taking the road trip in a serious manner.

"The mistakes you can make at home, you cannot make on the road," James said, per Sam Amico of FoxSports.com. "We have to understand that. We have to understand they're going to come out with a lot of aggression. We have to be ready for it."

If the Cavaliers come out of the gates better than the last two contests, the series might just end in four games. In what figures to be a physical defensive encounter, look for Cleveland's star players once again to make the difference.

Prediction: Cavaliers 96, Celtics 89

Bulls Take Care of Business

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks need some sort of miracle on their home court.

Thus far, the Bucks' frontcourt hasn't gotten anything going, and the team faces a 116-89 deficit in the rebounding department. As for the offensive side of things, well, ESPN Stats & Info breaks it down:

Whatever the Bulls defense wants to do works—so much so that the team was able to coast to a 103-91 victory in Game 1 despite a whopping 19 turnovers.

On the other end of the court, Milwaukee doesn't have an answer for Jimmy Butler, who scored 25 points in the first contest and another 31 on increased playing time in the second meeting.

Any way this one gets sliced, it seems the Bulls will be able to handle the Bucks. Make no mistake, Milwaukee will come out with its best shot of the series Thursday, but so far, all signs point to Chicago's ability to handle it and keep marching ahead.

Prediction: Bulls 99, Bucks 92

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.