NBA Playoff Schedule 2017: TV Guide, Live-Stream Coverage for Entire Postseason

The NBA playoffs start on Saturday when the Indiana Pacers face the Cleveland Cavaliers at 3 p.m. ET.

Here's a look at all the information you'll need, starting with the known first-round schedule, round-by-round dates, a live-stream guide and what to watch for during Saturday's games.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Game	Televison
Saturday, April 15	3 p.m.	Indiana at Cleveland	1	ABC
Saturday, April 15	5:30 p.m.	Milwaukee at Toronto	1	ESPN
Saturday, April 15	8 p.m.	Memphis at San Antonio	1	ESPN
Saturday, April 15	10:30 p.m.	Utah at L.A. Clippers	1	ESPN
Sunday, April 16	1 p.m.	Atlanta at Washington	1	TNT
Sunday, April 16	3:30 p.m.	Portland at Golden State	1	ABC
Sunday, April 16	6:30 p.m.	Chicago at Boston	1	TNT
Sunday, April 16	9 p.m.	Oklahoma City at Houston	1	TNT
Monday, April 17	7 p.m.	Indiana at Cleveland	2	TNT
Monday, April 17	9:30 p.m.	Memphis at San Antonio	2	TNT
Tuesday, April 18	7 p.m.	Milwaukee at Toronto	2	NBA TV
Tuesday, April 18	8 p.m.	Chicago at Boston	2	TNT
Tuesday, April 18	10:30 p.m.	Utah at L.A. Clippers	2	TNT
Wednesday, April 19	7 p.m.	Atlanta at Washington	2	NBA TV
Wednesday, April 19	8 p.m.	Oklahoma City at Houston	2	TNT
Wednesday, April 19	10:30 p.m.	Portland at Golden State	2	TNT
Thursday, April 20	7 p.m.	Cleveland at Indiana	3	TNT
Thursday, April 20	8 p.m.	Toronto at Milwaukee	3	NBA TV
Thursday, April 20	9:30 p.m.	San Antonio at Memphis	3	TNT
Friday, April 21	7 p.m.	Boston at Chicago	3	ESPN
Friday, April 21	9:30 p.m.	Houston at Oklahoma City	3	ESPN
Friday, April 21	10 p.m.	L.A. Clippers at Utah	3	ESPN2
Saturday, April 22	3 p.m.	Toronto at Milwaukee	4	TNT
Saturday, April 22	5:30 p.m.	Washington at Atlanta	3	TNT
Saturday, April 22	8 p.m.	San Antonio at Memphis	4	ESPN
Saturday, April 22	10:30 p.m.	Golden State at Portland	3	ESPN
Sunday, April 23	1 p.m.	Cleveland at Indiana	4	ABC
Sunday, April 23	3:30 p.m.	Houston at Oklahoma City	4	ABC
Sunday, April 23	6:30 p.m.	Boston at Chicago	4	TNT
Sunday, April 23	9 p.m.	L.A. Clippers at Utah	4	TNT
Monday, April 24	8 p.m.	Washington at Atlanta	4	TNT
Monday, April 24	10:30 p.m.	Golden State at Portland	4	TNT

The first round includes games whose dates, times and television stations are officially confirmed, via NBA.com. Only Games 1-4 are confirmed at this time, with Games 5-7 to be played if necessary.

Round	Start Date
Conference Quarterfinals	Saturday, April 15
Conference Semifinals	Monday, May 1
Conference Finals	Tuesday, May 16 (possible move to Sunday, May 14 or Monday, May 15)
NBA Finals	Thursday, June 1

Live-Stream Guide

Games will be live-streamed at three sources: WatchESPN (ESPN, ESPN2, ABC), Live TV on TNT (TNT) and NBA.com/NBATV (NBA TV).

What To Watch for Saturday

Indiana at Cleveland

The Cleveland Cavaliers defense has been porous at times this season. In fact, they finished tied for 22nd with the Brooklyn Nets in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.com.

Considering that the Nets went 20-62 this year, by far the worst win-loss record in the NBA, that's not a good sign.

Therefore, keep an eye out for the Cavs defense on Saturday. Will it bear down and improve, or will it follow the sub-mediocre trend from the regular season?

Although the Cavs struggled to end the season, losing 14 of 25 games, there isn't a powerhouse team in the Eastern Conference this year, so they have as good a chance as any team to make the NBA Finals from the East. Also, LeBron James has made the NBA Finals in each of the past six seasons. That has to count for something.

Indiana isn't likely to stop the Cavs, but don't be surprised to see Paul George put the Pacers on his back and win a game (or even two) as he almost did when he scored 43 points, grabbed nine boards and dished nine assists in a 135-130 double-overtime loss to Cleveland earlier this month.

Milwaukee at Toronto

If you're looking for a dark horse to make the NBA Finals, keep an eye on this series. Both of these teams finished the regular season on fire, with the Bucks winning 20 of their last 30 games and the Raptors taking 12 of 14.

The Bucks have been fantastic since Khris Middleton returned from a hamstring tear that sidelined him until February 8. Middleton started his 2016-17 season with a minutes restriction, but that has since been lifted. He had a fantastic March, averaging 17.3 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting.

The Raptors are arguably better than they were last season, when they made the Eastern Conference finals and pushed the Cavs to six games. Now, the Raps have Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker. Ibaka has been a solid third scoring option for the Raptors, averaging 14.2 points per game, while Tucker is a defensive stalwart who can shut down wings off the bench.

Both of these teams can give the Cavs a run for their money in the semifinals. However, if these two teams have a long, drawn-out series while Cleveland enjoys a relatively easy matchup against Indiana, then the Cavs could have an added advantage in the second round.

Memphis at San Antonio

Memphis Grizzlies forward and defensive stalwart Tony Allen is out indefinitely, per an official team announcement:

"Grizzlies guard Tony Allen has been diagnosed with a strain of the medial gastrocnemius muscle (calf) in his right leg. Allen is out indefinitely and will be continually re-evaluated while beginning rehab immediately."

The Grizzlies were going to have trouble winning this series with Allen, but without him, the Grizzlies don't have anyone who can hang with Spurs forward and MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard, who averaged 25.5 points per game this season.

It will be interesting to see how the Grizz try to neutralize Leonard. Who is going to be tasked with stopping him?

The Spurs are also very well-rested heading into the series. Their stars have taken numerous games off or have had their minutes capped in the closing weeks of the regular season.

Ultimately, it's hard seeing this series going more than five games.

Utah at L.A. Clippers

The Clippers' No. 4 seed is a bit deceptive considering their big two stars, point guard Chris Paul and power forward Blake Griffin, each missed 21 games this season. If they both played close to a full year, then the Clippers would almost certainly be the No. 3 seed over Houston.

This is also a tough matchup for the Jazz. Utah is a fantastic defensive team, led by center Rudy Gobert, but it doesn't have the offensive firepower to hang with Paul, Griffin and two shooting guards (J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford) who can score 30 points on any given night.

But Gobert is the player to watch in this series. He's capable of dominating a game in the paint. If he wins his matchups with DeAndre Jordan down low, then maybe Utah has a chance.

That being said, the Clippers' window is closing fast. If they don't go deep in the playoffs this year, one has to wonder if the band breaks up sooner rather than later. That added sense of urgency might be to the Clippers' benefit in the playoffs, although a very difficult second-round matchup with the Golden State Warriors looms if the Dubs hold serve and beat Portland.