NBA Playoff Schedule 2017: TV, Live-Stream Coverage for Wednesday's Semis
The conference semifinals are off to a quick start, as we enter Wednesday for a pair of Game 2 matchups featuring the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets.
Game 1 was a blowout in both series. There's no easier way of saying it.
The Cavaliers played to their capabilities against the Raptors this past Monday in a 116-105 victory that wasn't as close as the box score would suggest.
In the Western Conference, the first real shock of the playoffs came courtesy of the high-powered Rockets, led by James Harden and his ferocious sharpshooting supporting cast.
Stealing Game 1 in San Antonio seemed like a daunting task at the time, but Houston didn't have a problem against the No. 2 seeded Spurs, cruising to a 126-99 win.
For Toronto and San Antonio, it's damage-control time. The Raptors aren't in crisis mode just yet since they're still on the road, but they need to step up their game if they want to have any chance of taking this series past four games. For San Antonio, Wednesday is a must-win. Anything less than a victory may be the end of their playoff run.
Here's some background information regarding tonight's fixtures:
| Raptors @ Cavaliers | Game 2 | 7 p.m. ET | Quicken Loans Arena | TNT |
| Rockets @ Spurs | Game 2 | 9:30 p.m. ET | AT&T Center | TNT |
You can stream both games via TNT, here.
Cavaliers need to flex their muscles
Cleveland did a pretty good job at neutralizing Toronto's offense on Monday, and more of the same will be exactly what the doctor (or should I say King?) ordered.
LeBron James was his usual, spectacular self in Game 1, with a 35-point, 10-rebound game. But beyond his offensive stats, James was able to take control of the game and dictate the pace, taking the ball out of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan's hands.
DeRozan and Lowry didn't have terrible games (19 and 20 points, respectively), but that's not enough to take down arguably the second best team in the NBA. Nineteen points from a star player in the playoffs won't cut it anymore.
Just look at what Isaiah Thomas did in Boston Tuesday night with his 53-point outburst. That's what Toronto needs from its leading scorer if the Raptors are going to have any chance in this series.
The reality is that even with the mid-season additions of Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, the Raptors can't guard James. But what they can do is take away the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love and turn James into a scorer and pray that he misses his jump shots.
Game 2 will look eerily similar to Monday's first game between these two Eastern Conference foes, and it's going to take a standout performance from either DeRozan or Lowry to steal a game on the road in this series.
Prediction: Cleveland
Houston, you don't have a problem
Watching the Rockets torch the Spurs defense from beyond the arc was incredible, in the most terrifying way possible.
Houston came into Monday's game on a mission, and the Spurs weren't ready for it. The entire team pitched in and was able to hit shots all over the floor, as the Rockets shot 44 percent from deep, sinking 22 three-pointers, according to NBA.com.
The crowd in San Antonio was as shocked as anyone. How could the Spurs, the most disciplined, fundamentally sound team in the Association look like a junior varsity team?
Gregg Popovich will go down as one of the greatest coaches to ever grace the bench in the NBA, but his game plan failed on Monday, and it failed miserably.
Kawhi Leonard has to be a pest on James Harden defensively for the entire game. Forget about switching, forget about defensive sets. Leonard has to be on Harden whenever he is on the floor, otherwise the Rockets will run rampant for the second game in a row, going up two games to none as the series heads to Houston for Game 3.
But the real problem wasn't just that the Rockets shot the lights out of the arena, they actually played some solid defense for extended periods of time. LaMarcus Aldridge was a passenger for most of the game and couldn't even post-up Ryan Anderson. That's right, Ryan Anderson.
Four points on 2-of-7 shooting with a plus/minus of minus-36, according to NBA.com, is not what the Spurs had in mind from their best low-post threat.
If San Antonio can get Aldridge going, and have Leonard stop Harden from setting up his teammates and finding his stroke from deep, then the Spurs will have nothing to worry about.
After all, lightning can't strike twice, right?
Prediction: San Antonio
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