NBA Playoffs 2015: Tuesday Schedule, TV Info and Predictions

Make sure to catch the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, because you won’t get another chance until the 2015-16 season.

A sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals may be an unceremonious way to end a 60-22 season, but such is the power of LeBron James. The King and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers steamrolled their way to a 2-0 lead in Atlanta and then capitalized on home-court advantage with an overtime win in Game 3.

Now James gets the opportunity to finish off the sweep at home.

Here is a look at the NBA’s Tuesday schedule and a final prediction for the showdown.

NBA Playoffs Tuesday Schedule

Matchup: Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers, Eastern Conference Finals Game 4

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET 

TV: TNT

Prediction

Besides Cleveland’s overall domination, the main storyline of this series has unfortunately been injuries.

The Cavaliers are without Kevin Love for the rest of the season, and point guard Kyrie Irving has not played a minute since Game 1 of this series after laboring through the second-round victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Atlanta is not feeling sorry for its opponent, though, considering Thabo Sefolosha was lost for the season before the playoffs started and DeMarre Carroll hurt his knee in Game 1. Carroll has fought through the injury but is clearly nowhere near 100 percent when he is on the floor.

These injuries in particular are magnified in this series because Atlanta likely would have asked Carroll and Sefolosha to defend James for the majority of every game if the team was fully healthy.

What’s more, sharpshooter Kyle Korver is now out for the season, which takes away Atlanta’s floor spacing in the half-court sets and the trailing three-pointers in transition.

With all the attrition on both sides, the difference has, unsurprisingly, been James. He fought through cramps in Game 3 and still ended up with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists.

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

James commented on his status, via The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): “I'm feeling all right. I've been better, but I've been worse. I think I've been worse … When you want to win, you've got to sacrifice your body feeling good. That's just what it's about.”

Atlanta simply doesn’t have an answer for his ability to create his own shot whenever he wants, and when double-teams do come, James hits his teammates for wide-open looks. Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and James Jones in particular have capitalized on those openings, which creates subsequent driving lanes for James.

It is a vicious circle for the Atlanta defense, one that will ultimately be its undoing once again in Game 4. 

Tristan Thompson has also been a major factor on the boards with 33 rebounds in the first three contests, including 16 in Game 2 alone. Zach Harper of CBS Sports and Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated commented on the likely fallout for the impending free agent after his postseason performance:

With Thompson down low, Smith and Shumpert drilling threes and James orchestrating it all masterfully, it is impossible to envision an Atlanta comeback. It is likely mentally taxing facing a 3-0 deficit with the knowledge that no team has ever overcome that hole in the history of the league, and one or two runs from Cleveland Tuesday will be more than enough to close the door on this series.

The Cavaliers also have the extra incentive to finish off the sweep so they can rest before the NBA Finals against either the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets. They could certainly use it given the war of attrition that has been the 2015 Eastern Conference playoffs.

Get your brooms ready, Cleveland.

Prediction: Cleveland 101, Atlanta 92