Eastern Conference Finals 2015: TV Schedule, Predictions for Rest of Series
Do you hear it?
The numbing echo of the funeral bells, that is.
If you can’t hear them, get your ears checked—because the Atlanta Hawks are dead.
After a regular season full of dazzling teamwork and refreshing ball movement, the pride of the East has run into a force far greater than anything it's seen before: LeBron James.
James has carried his undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers to a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, while Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors have taken an identical lead on the Houston Rockets out West.
Check out the rest of the ECF schedule below. Don’t expect it to get past Tuesday.
TV Schedule
| 4 | May 26 | Hawks at Cavs | 8:30 p.m. EST | TNT |
| 5* | May 28 | Cavs at Hawks | 8:30 p.m. EST | TNT |
| 6* | May 30 | Hawks at Cavs | 8:30 p.m. EST | TNT |
| 7* | June 1 | Cavs at Hawks | 8:30 p.m. EST | TNT |
Predictions
Cleveland’s Health Will Improve
With each win, the Cavaliers grow stronger—literally and figuratively.
On the literal side is Kyrie Irving, the soon-to-be superstar point guard and sidekick to LBJ. He’s been dealing with foot and knee injuries for weeks, and the latter has caused him to be extremely limited in the conference finals.
Irving sat out Game 3, which was probably the wise decision given Cleveland’s ability to beat the Hawks even without its second-best player.
Still, ESPN’s Britt McHenry took a slight shot at the point guard after James played through pain and cramping in a heroic Game 3 performance:
What McHenry and every other doubter feels doesn’t matter. The Cavaliers can win this series without Irving, possibly even in a sweep.
But in the Finals, against Curry of all people? C’mon—that’s what Cleveland is preparing for.
Even if the league moves up Game 1 of the Finals to June 2 instead of June 4 in the event of two sweeps, which is rumored according to CBS Sports' Ken Berger, Irving would still have a whole week to get healthy.
Breakin' Out the Brooms
Does ATL have any shot going forward?
Let’s answer that with another question. Is there a player better than James in the game today?
No and no.
The Hawks appeared to have Game 3 in the bag early on. James started the game misfiring on his first 10 field-goal attempts. But Atlanta couldn’t put Cleveland away for good, and The King came roaring back with an impressive triple-double.
In almost 47 minutes, James erupted for 37 points (14-of-37 FG), 18 boards, 13 assists and three steals in Cleveland’s 114-111 overtime win. Most importantly, James was cold-blooded with the game on the line.
His outing on Sunday night was not only impressive—it was historic. NBA TV has more on the latter:
This was the kind of game that the Hawks needed to make this series at least somewhat interesting. Instead, Cleveland and LeBron inched closer to the NBA Finals.
Such a blown opportunity will surely become a back-breaker for the Hawks.
All stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
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