NBA Playoff Schedule 2016: Dates, TV Info for Remainder of Conference Semifinals
Following an onslaught of blowouts, the 2016 NBA playoffs have upped the ante with titillating conference semifinal showdowns.
The Cleveland Cavaliers steamrolled the Atlanta Hawks, but at least they put on a show in the process. The Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat make shooting basketballs look like pulling teeth, but at least they're delivering down-to-the-wire finishes in a 2-2 series.
Although Stephen Curry made his triumphant return for the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, he wasn't truly back until late in their 132-125 Game 4 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. His late explosion, however, was well worth the wait.
Every year the Western Conference produces a Finals-caliber showdown early in the postseason. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder continued their gripping series on Tuesday night, when the Thunder gained a 3-2 lead with their second road victory.
As the Cavaliers rest, three second-round series still have scores to settle. Let's take a look at the remaining schedule and updated storylines entering Wednesday night's action.
| May 11 | 5 | 8 p.m. | Miami Heat | Toronto Raptors | TNT |
| May 11 | 5 | 10:30 p.m | Portland Trail Blazers | Golden State Warriors | TNT |
| May 12 | 6 | 8:30 p.m. | San Antonio Spurs | Oklahoma City Thunder | ESPN |
| May 13 | 6 | 8 p.m. | Toronto Raptors | Miami Heat | ESPN |
| May 13 | 6* | 10:30 p.m. | Golden State Warriors | Portland Trail Blazers | ESPN |
| May 15 | 7* | TBD | Miami Heat | Toronto Raptors | TBD |
| May 15 | 7* | TBD | Oklahoma City Thunder | San Antonio Spurs | TNT |
| May 16 | 7* | 9 p.m. | Portland Trail Blazers | Golden State Warriors | TNT |
Can Heat or Raptors Challenge the Cavs?
The short answer to the question is no. After sweeping the Atlanta Hawks with a 12.5-point average margin of victory, the Cavaliers watched the Heat and Raptors engage in their third overtime battle of the series. As everyone else yawned through a 94-87 snoozer, Cleveland probably laughed.
Cleveland has something that has evaded both the Raptors and Heat this series: offense. The Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed has yet to lose this postseason on the strength of a 117.0 offensive rating. For comparison, Golden State registered an NBA-best 112.5 rating during the regular season.
The Cavaliers broke a record that was shortly owned by Golden State, converting 25 three-pointers in Game 2 of the second round. They're averaging 16.8 deep makes per game with a remarkable 46.2 percentage in the postseason—a lethal mixture of volume and efficiency from downtown.
On Monday night, the Raptors and Heat went a combined 7-of-35 from three-point range in an overtime game viewers just wanted to see end. Basketball Insiders' Tommy Beer noted the stark contrast in shooting acumen among the East's remaining playoff participants:
Close games don't always lead to thrilling action. Despite three of four games receiving an extra five minutes, neither side has reached triple digits since the Heat notched a 102-96 Game 1 triumph.
Of course, defense matters, too. There's no penalty for winning ugly, so maybe a grind-it-out approach could manufacture an upset or four.
Know who else values defense? The Hawks. Only the Spurs earned a better defensive rating than the Hawks' 98.8 this season. Their 33.8 opposing three-point percentage placed fifth in the NBA. The Raptors, meanwhile, yielded a 37.3 three-point percentage—worse than every team besides the Phoenix Suns.
J.R. Smith and Channing Frye won't stay hot forever, but Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are hitting their strides at the perfect time. Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry is shooting 33.1 percent for Toronto in the playoffs, and riding Dwyane Wade's coattails can only get a team so far in 2016.
The more prescient question could be whether Toronto or Miami will steal a game from Cleveland.
Curry Crushes Trail Blazers' Chances
Up until the fourth quarter on Monday night, the Trail Blazers couldn't have asked for more breaks. After falling behind 2-0 to the Los Angeles Clippers, injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin suddenly gave Portland an express path to the second round.
There they met the Warriors without Stephen Curry, who missed the first three games of the series with a sprained right knee. Portland capitalized by taking Game 3 at home, and it looked poised to even the score as the returning superstar spent Game 4 working off his rust.
When looking back on Monday's remarkable performance, history will remember Curry scoring 40 points off the bench and single-handedly outscoring Portland in overtime. Before crushing everyone's spirit at the Moda Center—most notably Blazers owner Paul Allen—the star guard couldn't buy a bucket for three quarters.
ESPN Stats & Info isolated his sluggish start from the memorable finish:
The Warriors now have three chances to eliminate the Blazers, who will need to win twice at Oracle Arena. Golden State lost just twice at home throughout its record-setting regular season.
During Game 4's postgame press conference, Draymond Green made a juicy statement everyone will use out of context to create conflict. While he simply said what everyone else was thinking, let's take a look at the full, sensible quote, per ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss:
"Do I think they're done? Of course I think they're done. If I don't think they're done, I don't know who else is going to think it. We're going home with a 3-1 lead. It's up to us to close it out. And I trust my teammates, I trust our team to come out ready to go and close this series out. Of course I think they're done. It's time for us to close the series. We did what we needed to do; we came on the road and got one win. We took care of home court. Now it's time for us to do it again.
"
Barring Curry aggravating his knee during practice before Wednesday night, of course Portland is done. And even if the MVP sat out the rest of the series, the Warriors would still win one of two home games to advance.
Curry or no Curry, the Blazers deserve credit for making this a fun series. Sparring against a tenacious opponent that earned the season's fourth-best defensive rating, the unlikely No. 5 seed has recorded 112.5 points per game. Damian Lillard is staking his claim to superstar status by averaging 32.8 points and 7.8 assists this series.
Thanks for playing, but the Warriors are set for a star-studded Western Conference Finals showdown against the Thunder or Spurs.
Note: Advanced statistics obtained from NBA.com.
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