NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: TV Info and Outlook for Conference Semifinals
All but one of the conference semifinals series in the 2015 NBA playoffs are knotted up at two games apiece, setting up heart-pounding dramatics galore as teams desperately aim to take that next step.
Save for the Houston Rockets' 3-1 hole against the Los Angeles Clippers, every other team is just two victories away from reaching the NBA's so-called final four that make up the conference finals. Championship contenders are guaranteed to bow out amid a few hard-fought series.
The results over the next several days aren't only going to help shape the outlook of the NBA Finals but also have a far-reaching impact on many organizations that are building for a championship run. With that in mind, let's have a look at the rest of the conference semifinals schedule.
2015 NBA Playoffs Schedule
| Game 1 | Warriors win 101-86 | - |
| Game 2 | Grizzlies win 97-90 | - |
| Game 3 | Grizzlies win 99-89 | - |
| Game 4 | Warriors win 101-84 | - |
| Game 5 (at Golden State) | Wednesday, May 13 at 10:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 6 (at Memphis) | Friday, May 15 at 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Game 7* (at Golden State) | Sunday, May 17, TBD | TBD |
| Game 1 | Bulls win 99-92 | - |
| Game 2 | Cavaliers win 106-91 | - |
| Game 3 | Bulls win 99-96 | - |
| Game 4 | Cavaliers win 86-84 | - |
| Game 5 (at Cleveland) | Tuesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 6 (at Chicago) | Thursday, May 14 at 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Game 7* (at Cleveland) | Sunday, May 17, TBD | TNT |
| Game 1 | Wizards win 104-98 | - |
| Game 2 | Hawks win 106-90 | - |
| Game 3 | Wizards win 103-101 | - |
| Game 4 | Hawks win 106-101 | - |
| Game 5 (at Atlanta) | Wednesday, May 13 at 8 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 6 (at Washington) | Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Game 7* (at Atlanta) | Monday, May 18 at 8 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 1 | Clippers win 117-101 | - |
| Game 2 | Rockets win 115-109 | - |
| Game 3 | Clippers win 124-99 | - |
| Game 4 (at Los Angeles) | Clippers win 128-95 | - |
| Game 5 (at Houston) | Tuesday, May 12 at 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 6* (at Los Angeles) | Thursday, May 14 at 10:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Game 7* (at Houston) | Sunday, May 17, TBD | TBD |
Series to Watch
Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards (Tied 2-2)
A hotly contested playoff series in the Eastern Conference keeps being decided by late-game heroics and surprise developments. What, you thought I was talking about the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers?
While the buzzer-beaters of Derrick Rose and LeBron James have taken the cake, there's no denying the intrigue across the bracket between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards.
The top-seeded Hawks are back level at two games apiece after winning Game 4, but the series nearly evaporated right under their noses. Wizards veteran Paul Pierce lined up a wide-open three-pointer late to tie the game, but it clanked off the rim, allowing the Hawks to tie up the series.
Pierce already got one-up on Atlanta prior to that with his game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 3, but the ball didn't bounce his way Monday. Now, it's anyone's series heading back to Atlanta for a critical Game 5.
Washington has been playing without its star point guard in John Wall ever since the opening game of the series. The Wizards have stepped up in his absence and fought hard but have still lost two of the three games he's missed.
Five broken bones in Wall's wrist made coming back to play for this series a tall order, but Tuesday's practice indicated he might be trying to play through it, per Gene Wang of the Washington Post:
Wall's absence hasn't been as noticeable thanks to the star-caliber play of Bradley Beal, who stepped up with 34 points in the Wizards' Game 4 defeat. But Beal has taken a whopping 84 shots in this series (21 per game). A heavier workload won't only result in him potentially getting worn down but also allow the Hawks defense to key in on him more.
The emergence of swingman Otto Porter Jr. has also played its part, but his four-point outing in Game 4 marked his first game below double digits. His all-around play has kept the Wizards together like glue, but it began to come undone in Game 4.
With that in mind, the Wizards simply need that duo to play out of their minds to win this series without Wall. Even then, they're at the mercy of a Hawks team that is virtually unbeatable when it moves the ball and hits shots.
That's what the Hawks did in Game 4, with Jeff Teague providing a resilient performance, helping the Hawks point guards overshadow Washington, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated:
Struggles from Al Horford, Kyle Korver and the like jumped off the page throughout the opening several games, but it's no secret that Teague is the spark plug. His inability to get the best of Ramon Sessions with Wall absent threatened to derail Atlanta's season before he put up 26 points and eight assists to help close out Game 4.
Heading back home, there's little reason to believe the Hawks are going to resort to their ways earlier in this series and allow Beal, Porter and Co. to dictate the game. Even if Wall finds a way to suit up, his usual impact is likely to be neutralized due to injury.
But both teams have already traded big haymakers and shown the opposition just how hard victory is going to be when they play their best. If that's not an indication of a series that will go down to the wire, I don't know what is.
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