NBA Playoff Schedule 2016: How to Watch NBA Finals on TV and Live Stream
The Cleveland Cavaliers will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. All that's left is for a team to emerge from the Western Conference.
LeBron James led the Cavaliers to a 113-87 Game 6 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday, sending the superstar to the Finals for the sixth year in a row. The challenge for the team will be to improve on last year's result, when it lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
No matter which team advances to face Cleveland, it will be an entertaining battle. The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Warriors both have tons of talent and star power, which should keep fans entertained throughout the series.
While the locations and times remain to be seen, here is what we know heading into the highly anticipated series:
| 1 | Thursday, June 2 | Thunder at Cavaliers | Cavaliers at Warriors | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 2 | Sunday, June 5 | Thunder at Cavaliers | Cavaliers at Warriors | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 3 | Wednesday, June 8 | Cavaliers at Thunder | Warriors at Cavaliers | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 4 | Friday, June 10 | Cavaliers at Thunder | Warriors at Cavaliers | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 5* | Monday, June 13 | Thunder at Cavaliers | Cavaliers at Warriors | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 6* | Thursday, June 16 | Cavaliers at Thunder | Warriors at Cavaliers | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 7* | Sunday, June 19 | Thunder at Cavaliers | Cavaliers at Warriors | ABC | WatchESPN |
The home team won the first five games of the Eastern Conference Finals, most of them in dominant fashion. While the Cavaliers seemed to send a message with their 38-point win at Quicken Loans Arena in Game 5, you couldn't count Toronto out after its previous success at home.
At least, that was until Cleveland cruised to a 26-point road victory to seal the series with little resistance Friday.
James finished with 33 points, his highest total of the playoffs, to go with 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love also came up big, as they have throughout the postseason. After Love (shoulder) missed the Finals last year and Irving (knee) missed all but one game, the two former All-Stars should play a major role this time around.
ESPN Stats & Info noted how good the team is when all three are playing well together:
Meanwhile, the defense also played a major role, holding the Raptors to under 100 points for the fifth time in six games. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had impressive showings, but not a single other player on the roster finished with double-digit points in Game 6.
The Cavaliers were the favorites to win the East all year, and they lived up to expectations with a 12-2 run through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
In the Western Conference, the Thunder have a 3-2 lead, but the Warriors remain confident after their 120-111 Game 5 win to keep the series alive Thursday.
Stephen Curry, who led the Warriors with 31 points and played great defense while totaling five steals, discussed the difference in the team's mindset, per Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated:
"We played like we were really stressed in OKC and it showed. [Tonight, we] kind of let loose, be ourselves, have fun, enjoy what we were doing. It was a good feeling out there to perform at a high level. So [we] got to bottle up that joy and take it with us on the plane tomorrow to OKC and be ready on Saturday.
"
If the Warriors can find a way to win in Oklahoma City, they would have to feel confident heading into Game 7. It would be a winner-take-all game in a place where Golden State has lost only three times all year.
However, getting to that point will not be easy. According to OddsShark.com, OKC opened as a two-point favourite for Game 6, with Clay Travis of Fox Sports 1 noting the Thunder are finally getting respect heading into Game 6:
Oklahoma City hasn't been just solid at home; it has sent a message to the best teams in the NBA that it's a force to be reckoned with. The squad won its last two home games against the Warriors by a combined 52 points after beating the San Antonio Spurs by 14 points in each of its final two home games in Round 2.
Both teams will be feeling pressure to win in Game 6. As for those watching, it might not get better than sitting back and waiting for one of these teams to emerge as the champion over the next couple of weeks.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
