NBA Playoffs 2017: Schedule, Game Times and Predictions for 1st-Round Bracket

Two games that went down to the buzzer and two blowouts summed up the first day of NBA playoff action on Saturday.

Sunday brings an interesting quartet of games starting with the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards at 1 p.m. ET.

Here's a look at the first-round schedule as well as predictions for each series.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Game	Channel
Saturday, April 15	3 p.m.	Cleveland 109, Indiana 108	1	ABC
Saturday, April 15	5:30 p.m.	Milwaukee 97, Toronto 83	1	ESPN
Saturday, April 15	8 p.m.	San Antonio 111, Memphis 82	1	ESPN
Saturday, April 15	10:30 p.m.	Utah 97, L.A. Clippers 95	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.

Indiana vs. Cleveland

It's not a good sign that the Cavs needed a superhuman effort from LeBron James (32 points, 13 assists and six rebounds in 43 minutes) to defeat a 42-40 Pacers team at home by just one point.

The Cavs need to right the ship on defense, which was again porous as the Pacers made 11 of 24 three-pointers and hit 49.4 percent of their shots overall.

Cleveland can outscore Indiana to win this series (expect that to be the case), but against tougher competition, it won't suffice.

Pick: Cavaliers in five games

Milwaukee vs. Toronto

Bucks big man Thon Maker introduced himself to NBA fans nationwide by blocking three shots in just 15 minutes, symbolizing the tough and gritty Milwaukee defense on display during their 97-83 win over Toronto on Saturday.

That being said, it's hard to imagine the Raptors (outside power forward Serge Ibaka) combine to shoot just 31.1 percent from the field even one more time in this series. The Raptors' top two scorers this season, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, made just nine of 32 shots.

The Raps, who finished the regular season 12-2, should find their offensive stride, regroup and beat the Bucks, but Milwaukee will put up a good fight. 

Pick: Raptors in six games

Memphis vs. San Antonio

The Spurs put on a clinic in the third quarter of their 111-82 win over Memphis on Saturday, outscoring the Grizzlies, 32-15.

Most notably, no one on the Memphis team is able to slow down Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (who scored 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting and sat the entire fourth quarter) with Grizzlies guard/forward Tony Allen out indefinitely with a right calf strain.

It's difficult to envision a path to victory for Memphis in this series, especially considering Grizzlies center Marc Gasol put on a show himself (32 points), and the Grizzlies still lost by 29.

Pick: Spurs in four games

Utah vs. Los Angeles Clippers

This series will partially hinge on the health of center Rudy Gobert, who was knocked out of Game 1 after he and Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute collided.

The good news is that Gobert does not have a torn knee ligament. Here's the latest per Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune:

As foolish as it seems to write after the Jazz just beat the Clippers, 97-95 in Los Angeles without Gobert on the court, the pick here is for the Clips to win the series even if he returns.

Clipper guards J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford simply could not get anything going on Saturday, shooting a combined 7-of-18 from the field (1-of-7 from three-point range) and turning the ball over six times.

The veterans won't be that ineffective all series. Expect them to bounce back and help the Clips to a series win. 

Pick: Clippers in six games

Atlanta vs. Washington

This should be the best first-round series. It features a hot Hawks team, which won its last four regular-season games, against the Wizards, who started the season horribly and finished strong to get the No. 4 seed.

Keep an eye on the matchups down low, which will dictate this series.

Hawks center Dwight Howard nearly averaged a tidy 15-15 stat line against Washington this season, posting 14.3 points and 14.8 rebounds per game in four contests.

Atlanta power forward Paul Millsap continues to be one of the steadier and consistent frontcourt presences in the NBA, as he averaged 18.1 points and 7.7 boards per game in his fourth straight All-Star year.

But watch out for Wizards power forward Markieff Morris, who is heating up at the right time. The former Kansas star has made 30-of-49 field goals in April, including eight of 13 three-pointers. Morris averaged 17.0 points per game against the Hawks this season and will be a serious matchup problem if he's sticking his threes.

This one should go down to the wire. Give the edge to the Wizards due to their home-court advantage.

Pick: Wizards in seven games

Portland vs. Golden State

No team will be a match for Golden State this postseason. With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant on the floor together for the Warriors, teams are tasked with trying to stop three elite scorers over the course of a seven-game series.

Sure, teams can shut them down for one game, or maybe two, but it's hard to see any team doing that enough to beat the Dubs in a playoff round.

Portland had a good run to the playoffs, and it should be even better next year, but its postseason will end early.

Pick: Warriors in four games

Chicago vs. Boston

Which Bulls team are we going to get? The one that beat the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, or the one that lost to the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets in April as they were fighting for a playoff spot?

The answer is that there is no answer. Who knows?

Expect the Dr. Jekyll Bulls and the Mr. Hyde Bulls to show up in this series. The return of Dwyane Wade will certainly help, and power forward Nikola Mirotic's recent hot streak will help ease the burden off superstar Jimmy Butler, but the C's have home-court advantage and are ultimately the stronger and more well-rounded team.

Pick: Celtics in six games

Oklahoma City vs. Houston

Unless Houston goes ice cold from beyond the arc, where they shoot over 40 times per game, this series should go in the Rockets' favor. Houston is a tough matchup for OKC, which does not have the offensive firepower to go toe to toe with the Rockets.

That being said, do not be surprised to see Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook score 40-plus a few times and will OKC to a victory or two. Westbrook averaged 36.3 points per game against Houston this year, and as Royce Young of ESPN.com reported, head coach Billy Donovan said Westbrook's (and other players') minutes should go up in the postseason.

Pick: Rockets in six games