NBA Playoff Schedule 2016: Dates, Game Times and TV Info for Conference Finals
Only four teams remain as we move into the Conference Finals in the 2016 NBA playoffs, and the balance of power in the Eastern and Western Conferences is skewed, at best.
In the Western Conference, Stephen Curry is back in action for the No. 1 Golden State Warriors, who took on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 on Monday. Unfortunately, his return wasn't enough to lead the Warriors over the Thunder, who won 108-102.
In the Eastern Conference, the No. 2 Toronto Raptors will attempt to break the winning streak of the 8-0 Cleveland Cavaliers, who are coming off more than a week's rest after defeating the Atlanta Hawks in four.
The Western Conference Finals can be streamed through TNT here, while the Eastern Conference Finals can be streamed through ESPN here.
Game dates and times are included below, and then we'll break down what to watch in the Conference Finals.
Western Conference Finals
| 2 | Wednesday, May 18 | Oracle Arena (Warriors) | 9 p.m. ET | TNT |
| 3 | Sunday, May 22 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (OKC) | 8 p.m. ET | TNT |
| 4 | Tuesday, May 24 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (OKC) | 9 p.m. ET | TNT |
| 5* | Thursday, May 26 | Oracle Arena (Warriors) | TBD | TNT |
| 6* | Saturday, May 28 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (OKC) | TBD | TNT |
| 7* | Monday, May 30 | Oracle Arena (Warriors) | TBD | TNT |
After Monday night's game, the narrative surrounding the faceoff between the Warriors and the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals is changing somewhat.
Coming into this series, the Warriors were supposed to get a boost from the return of superstar Curry and also get support from their deep bench.
Instead, Golden State struggled to get into a rhythm early, with a succession of frenzied quick shots and turnovers.
Curry vocalized the issue succinctly after the game, per J.A. Adande:
Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook emerged as the star of the night for the Thunder, with 27 points, 12 assists, seven steals, and six rebounds.
Now, the Warriors head into Game 2 with their first 0-1 deficit in the Steve Kerr era, as Jovan Buha of Fox Sports points out.
Still, as long as the Warriors look more like themselves Wednesday, this series is far from over. Klay Thompson had a hot second quarter, with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and if Curry didn't commit seven turnovers and shoot just 9-of-22 from the floor, his night would have looked a lot better.
Eastern Conference Finals
| 1 | Tuesday, May 17 | Quicken Loans Arena (Cavs) | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| 2 | Thursday, May 19 | Quicken Loans Arena (Cavs) | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| 3 | Saturday, May 21 | Air Canada Centre (Raptors) | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| 4 | Monday, May 23 | Air Canada Centre (Raptors) | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| 5* | Wednesday, May 25 | Quicken Loans Arena (Cavs) | TBD | ESPN |
| 6* | Friday, May 27 | Air Canada Centre (Raptors) | TBD | ESPN |
| 7* | Sunday, May 29 | Quicken Loans Arena (Cavs) | TBD | ESPN |
The big question surrounding the Eastern Conference Finals matchup is, of course, whether the Raptors even hold their own against the Cavaliers, nevermind upset them to take the series.
Per Odds Shark, the Cavaliers are 10-point favorites heading into the matchup, and while their undefeated record in postseason play is an obvious reason why, it's not the whole reason.
According to Odds Shark, Cleveland is scoring a combined average of 104.6 points per game in the regular season and playoffs, compared to Toronto's 101.5. The Cavaliers are also faring better in field goal percentage, at 46.2 percent, while Toronto is shooting 44.5 percent in that category.
In fact, Cleveland is making the most threes out of any team in the postseason, per USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. Its 16.8 threes made per game, 36.3 attempted per game and 46.2 percentage are all playoff bests.
Cleveland's Big Three are also looking borderline unstoppable. Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.4 points and 5.5 assists, LeBron James is averaging 23.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists and Kevin Love has added 18.9 points and 12.5 rebounds.
"Well, Toronto has talent too," you say, and there's no argument there. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had an excellent showing against the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the semifinals.
But Lowry and DeRozan are both banged up (elbow and thumb, respectively), and the team will need them healthy and as productive as they were in their last game in order to have a fighting chance against Cleveland.
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