NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: Dates, Game Times and TV Info for Conference Finals
Many championship contenders have fallen by the wayside, propelling four worthy teams to the conference finals of the 2015 NBA playoffs for a guaranteed thrilling finish to the 2014-15 season.
Things unfolded relatively predictably in the Eastern Conference, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds facing off as LeBron James attempts to personally make his fifth straight NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers against the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks. The same can't be said out West where surprises came in both rounds, but it hasn't stopped the 67-win Golden State Warriors from meeting with the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets.
The ball is tipped for the conference finals round Tuesday night, and you won't want to miss out. So, go ahead and take a peak at the full schedule for the next couple of weeks.
2015 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals Schedule
| 1 | Wed., May 20 | Cleveland at Atlanta | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 2 | Fri., May 22 | Cleveland at Atlanta | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 3 | Sun., May 24 | Atlanta at Cleveland | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 4 | Tues., May 26 | Atlanta at Cleveland | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 5* | Thu., May 28 | Cleveland at Atlanta | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 6* | Sat., May 30 | Atlanta at Cleveland | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 7* | Mon., June 1 | Cleveland at Atlanta | 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| 1 | Tues., May 19 | Houston at Golden State | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 2 | Thu., May 21 | Houston at Golden State | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 3 | Sat., May 23 | Golden State at Houston | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 4 | Mon., May 25 | Golden State at Houston | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 5* | Wed., May 27 | Houston at Golden State | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 6* | Fri., May 29 | Golden State at Houston | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 7* | Sun., May 31 | Houston at Golden State | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
Live Stream
TNT Overtime (Eastern Conference Finals)
WatchESPN (Western Conference Finals)
Game to Watch: Houston vs. Golden State (Game 1)
Before we take a look forward to an enticing Western Conference Finals matchup between the top seeds in a brutally tough conference, let's check in with the great Phil Jackson.
Nine days ago, when both the Rockets and Warriors faced deficits in their respective second-round series, Jackson threw some considerable shade on the playoffs by proclaiming the three-point-dominant teams were fading noticeably:
It's actually "goink" pretty well, Zen Master, and the NBA's two best three-point shooting teams thank you for asking.
There's no secret that what the Warriors do is very much predicated on the three-point line with sharpshooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. But the thought of them being merely a jump-shooting team was zapped the moment head coach Steve Kerr arrived. Ever since, Golden State has been arguably the best defensive force in the league.
No team came close to chucking it up as much as Houston (32.7 attempts per game) during the regular season, but the Rockets' success didn't carry over when they faced the Warriors, as NBA on ESPN noted:
Now to be fair, the Rockets aren't asking James Harden to carry the team like he was forced to do back then. Just as well, Dwight Howard never made the sort of impact that he's been able to have in these playoffs.
These Rockets were presumed dead just days ago, but they emerged from the wreckage to win three straight—including an incredible Game 6 comeback—over the Los Angeles Clippers. They face a completely different beast in the next round, but you can bet that Josh Smith, Trevor Ariza and Houston's key role players won't be shaken by it.
If Houston continues to get the sort of production across the board that it got against L.A., the Rockets will be in good shape to at least make something of this series. With that said, Golden State's only losses this postseason came in games where the Warriors couldn't have possibly played any worse.
Much of the series will boil down to how much Harden and Howard can dominate in order to offset the inevitable three-point barrage from their opposition.
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