NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: Guide to TV Start Times, Live Stream Info
After abandoning us all for the first time since April 17, the NBA re-entered our lives on Friday night.
And thank goodness it did.
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Chicago Bulls on a three-point heave from Derrick Rose that just so happened to carom in off the glass. The second game was not nearly as exciting, as the Los Angeles Clippers spanked the Houston Rockets like a misbehaved child, but it was still fun.
Saturday night should be a treat, too.
The Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks—the only two teams to hit 60 wins in the regular season—are back in action against two opponents more than capable of pulling the upset.
Don’t deny yourself the privilege of seeing these games.
How to Watch
| Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards | 5 p.m. | ESPN | 1-1 |
| Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies | 8 p.m. | ABC | 1-1 |
Live streams for Friday’s second-round contests can be found here (Hawks-Wizards) and here (Warriors-Grizzlies).
Has the Great Wall (of Washington) Fallen For Good?
One recurring theme throughout the entire postseason has been the presence of injuries.
Some of the league’s top stars—Kevin Love, Chris Paul and Mike Conley—have all been sidelined with various health concerns. And their teams have suffered because of it.
Washington might be in line to suffer the most.
It was announced on Wednesday that Wizards star point guard John Wall would be forced to sit with “five non-displaced fractures in left wrist and hand,” according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
A day later, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt reported what fans feared when hearing about the painful injury:
Wall has yet to be officially ruled out of the playoffs, but he told Jumoke Davis of Monumental Network (h/t The Score) that while playing through the injury would be risky, it's doable.
"It's really going to come down to how I feel, and do I feel comfortable and feel like taking the risk," he said.
Wall, known as one of the league’s tougher players, might actually return later in the series and fight through the injury. He impressed one of his teammates, Rasual Butler, with just how much he could take, per ESPN’s Britt McHenry:
Washington coach Randy Wittman, has been pretty darn complimentary of his PG, too. From Lee's piece:
"Coach Randy Wittman, who played with a Hall of Famer in Dominique Wilkins and coached future Hall of Famer [Kevin] Garnett, called Wall “the toughest kid I’ve been around” in more than 30 years in the NBA. Wall’s actions already have supported that sentiment since he got hurt in the first half of the Wizards’ Game 1 victory over the Hawks, simply taped up his wrist on the bench and finished the game.
"
Despite the point guard’s lionheart, it’s difficult to expect him back this season at all. It’s possible for him to play through the injury, apparently, but would that be smartest thing to do?
If he is, in fact, sidelined for the rest of this ride, Washington is pretty much done. ESPN depicted how valuable the All-Star has been during these playoffs:
In Game 1 versus the Hawks, Wall went for 18 points and 13 dimes while playing most of the day with a throbbing left hand after falling hard in the second quarter.
A full-strength Wizards team would beat the Birds. ATL's Achilles is opposing star power, which is what Washington has—or had—in Wall. The 24-year-old was averaging 17.4 points and 12.6 assists per game in the playoffs prior to the injury.
If Wall can’t go the rest of the year, Atlanta will have a remarkably easy stroll to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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