NBA Playoffs Schedule 2015: TV Guide and Predictions for Wednesday

The 2015 NBA playoffs continue Wednesday, May 20, as the Eastern Conference Finals get underway. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Phillips Arena to take on the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks.

Cleveland just ripped off three consecutive wins in the conference semifinals before taking the series against the Chicago Bulls, 4-2. In those three games, James averaged 26.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. 

James has been forced to channel his inner MVP as both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have battled injuries. Love remains sidelined for the postseason, while Irving vowed his leg injuries will not keep him from playing in Wednesday's Game 1:

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"I'm going to go." Kyrie Irving says his leg injuries won't sideline him for Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals. pic.twitter.com/I7vmrm8MnI

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 18, 2015"

The Hawks have dispatched both the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards in six games to make their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history. The team last played in a conference finals in 1970 against the Lakers.

Cleveland will try to steal Game 1 of the conference finals on the road as the Hawks look to defend their home-court advantage. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. and will be broadcast on TNT. 

LeBron, Cavs the Underdogs in Spite of History

Despite struggling in each of the first two rounds of the playoffs, Atlanta (minus-1) is favored to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight, according to OddsShark.com.

Should the Hawks win, they'll be bucking recent history.

James' teams have faced No. 1 seeds in the Eastern Conference Finals three times. Three times his teams have come out on top, according to ESPN Stats & Info. James' Cavs team accomplished the feat against the 2007 Detroit Pistons, while his Miami Heat teams did so against the 2011 Bulls and 2014 Pacers. 

The Hawks must rely on DeMarre Carroll to be the defender he was in the teams' regular-season meetings with Cleveland in these playoffs:

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DeMarre Carroll will probably guard LeBron James. Carroll was effective in their 2 regular season meetings pic.twitter.com/8AlkxcOufX

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 19, 2015"

In addition, Carroll will also test James' prowess on defense, leaving the rest of the Cavaliers players with larger offensive workloads. Such was not the case when James dropped 32 points on the Hawks in the teams' inaugural regular-season meeting, which the Cavaliers won 127-94. 

Atlanta bounced back to win the following three games, including a 127-98 win in December which marked Cleveland's largest loss of the season to that point. James missed the third matchup and was held to 18 points with nine turnovers in the final game.

Predictions

It's interesting to compare and contrast the playoff roads each of these two teams have traveled thus far.

Atlanta struggled at times against the lowly Nets, then conquered a fierce Wizards team to advance to the conference finals. The top-seeded Hawks won each series in six games and currently ride a three-game winning streak, the team's longest such streak since the beginning of April.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Cleveland quickly swept the Celtics in the opening round and appeared to be in a heavyweight battle with Chicago in the conference semifinals. Despite a rash of injuries and suspensions hindering the team, the Cavaliers won three in a row to take the series. 

If the Hawks are going to challenge James and Co. they'll have to take a page out of Gregg Popovich's playbook, as the Spurs were the last team to defeat a James-led team in the postseason. Players such as Carroll, Al Horford and Paul Millsap will loom large, in that case.

For Cleveland, can a healthy Irving come into his own as he did in the Celtics series? James' performance against the Bulls was reminiscent of his first stint with the Cavaliers in which he had to shoulder the majority of the workload. Irving must be a dependable and dynamic scorer as the Hawks key in on James for the Cavs to win this series.

Like the Bulls, the Hawks are a team known for their defense. Still, James countered that when his team needed him most in the previous round. Don't expect the Cavaliers to steal both games on the road at Phillips Arena, but momentum suggests Game 1 will belong to James. After Wednesday, the Cavaliers will take a 1-0 lead in a series that will span six games.