NBA Playoffs Schedule 2015: TV Coverage and Live Stream for Finals
It's been a long regular season and postseason, but the NBA Finals matchup is finally set, and the series begins on June 4. The Golden State Warriors, the top overall seed, finished off the Houston Rockets in five games on Wednesday night to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.
They will be opposed by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had already secured the sweep over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. It's a matchup that features arguably the two most popular players in the sport today—Cleveland's LeBron James and Golden State's Stephen Curry.
Even though Cleveland and Golden State aren't considered major markets, there's still the requisite star power to make this a series that should not only appeal to hard-core hoops fans but also to the casual followers of the sport.
Here's a look at the schedule and viewing information for each game:
Game 1: Thursday, June 4, Cleveland at Golden State, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2: Sunday, June 7, Cleveland at Golden State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 3: Tuesday, June 9, Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 4: Thursday, June 11, Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 5*: Sunday, June 14, Cleveland at Golden State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 6*: Tuesday, June 16, Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 7*: Friday, June 19, Cleveland at Golden State, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
*If necessary
Live stream available on ESPN 3 for all games.
Things to Watch in the Series
Backcourt Health
After battling injuries throughout the last two rounds, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has to be ecstatic to get seven full days of rest before the start of the NBA Finals. His health could be a major factor in the series. Cleveland needs him close to 100 percent to match up with Stephen Curry in what could be an epic point guard battle.
On the other side, the Warriors should be concerned with the health of Klay Thompson. He took an inadvertent knee to the side of the head from the Houston Rockets' Trevor Ariza on Wednesday night.
The shot opened up a cut that required stitches. According to Will Brinson of CBS Sports—who referenced comments that Mychal Thompson, Klay's father, made on ESPN's Mike & Mike—the bump led to some concussion-like symptoms.
We can only hope for a speed recovery for Thompson, as it was a scary shot. The six days off should help him get ready for the NBA Finals, but it's too early to know if he'll be available for Game 1 and beyond.
Warriors' Plan to Stop LeBron
What will Golden State do to slow down LeBron? That's obviously the Warriors' biggest challenge. They do have at least three players capable of defending him about as well as can be expected: Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes. That's significant depth, but with James spending a lot of time in the post, it puts Green and others in danger of falling into foul trouble.
Golden State can ill afford to have Green off the floor or out of rhythm. The team needs his defense, poise, three-point shooting and overall presence to be at its best.
Expect to see the Warriors try to wear James down with a variety of looks. It'll be up to James' teammates to take some pressure off of him.
If J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving don't knock down shots, the Cavs can't win.
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