NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: Game Times, TV and Live Stream Coverage for Friday
It’s been too long, hasn’t it?
For the first time in a long time—since April 17, to be exact—the NBA playoffs were nowhere to be found Thursday. With all four of the semifinal series deadlocked at 1-1, the postseason took a hiatus for a night.
But it was a long night.
Don’t worry, though, because the playoffs are back in business. Fresh off of a blowout win over the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers will try to run with the likes of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose on their home floor.
LeBron James will probably get a warm welcome.
The second game of the night will be the Los Angeles Clippers, presumably with superstar point guard Chris Paul back in uniform, hosting the Houston Rockets.
If you’re not around to catch the contests, (1) that’s tragic and (2) we’ve got you covered with a live stream link below.
How to Watch
| Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Live streams for Friday’s second-round contests on ESPN can be found here.
The Magnitude of Chris Paul’s Return
Even if he’s not 100 percent, the comeback of CP3 could make this series a quick kill for the Clippers.
Blake Griffin has stepped up without his point guard, leading Los Angeles to one victory in Game 1 and a respectable loss in Game 2. After Monday’s win, NBA TV put Griffin’s big night into perspective:
While operating as the focal point of the Clippers offense, Griffin has also taken on some CP3-ish tendencies, per ESPN’s Arash Markazi:
As relayed by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, TNT analyst Charles Barkley couldn’t speaker any higher of Griffin:
But the Clippers need Paul back.
For as great as Griffin has played, he’s been a single star on a pitch-black canvas. Through two games, BG is averaging team highs in points (30), rebounds (14.5) and assists (8.5). Aside from DeAndre Jordan’s 12.5 boards, no one else is really close to him in any category.
On Wednesday, coach Doc Rivers told Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle that CP is still questionable for Game 3, which means Griffin could be in for another massive workload:
"As far as the improvement, I don’t know. I guess you can say the improvement was that he went from really doing nothing to yesterday a pretty hard workout. Today he is having a workout on the floor so I think those are the right steps. I am not sure exactly what steps are next. There will be tests from our trainers then how he feels. With the hamstring, there is no gauge. So I think that is what we are going to look for.
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Knowing the type of pit bull Paul is, though, it’s difficult to imagine him sitting again after going through “a pretty hard workout” the day before a very pivotal Game 3.
There is not one player on the Rockets who can give Paul any trouble in one-on-one situations. The San Antonio Spurs had the Defensive Player of the Year in Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and the scrappy Patty Mills to pester Paul, who still dominated with 22.9 points and 7.4 assists.
With Patrick Beverly sidelined for Houston, the Rockets haven't a single soul capable of slowing down LAC’s floor general.
The Clippers could definitely win this series with just Griffin, so long as the power forward continues to churn out triple-doubles on a nightly basis. He’s been a problem for Houston, to say the least, but it’s tough for Rivers to ask that of his big man every night.
Right now, the Rockets can barely handle one problem. If the Clips add Paul into the mix at full-strength, Houston would be lucky to survive more than five games.
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