NBA Playoff Schedule 2018: 1st-Round TV Info and Predictions
The opening first-round games of the 2018 NBA postseason begin on Saturday and Sunday and will take place across eight arenas.
Houston and Golden State are the top seeds in the Western Conference, while Toronto and Boston sit on top of the Eastern Conference.
Outside of the top two teams in each conference, we don't know what the first-round matchups will look like because of the congested nature of the standings.
The opening round of the postseason spans two weeks, with games appearing on ESPN, TNT and NBATV. As many as five games will occur on the weekends, while there's usually three or four games taking place on any given weekday.
Predictions
Oklahoma City Wins, Survives Mess In West
Oklahoma City possesses the rare luxury of an easy schedule in the buildup to the postseason, as it takes on Miami and Memphis in the final three days of the regular season.
The Thunder benefited from a four-day layoff to knock off Houston by six points Saturday behind a stellar defensive performance led by Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook leads the NBA in points off turnovers with 5.2 per game, and his whole team thrived in that category with 22 points off 18 turnovers Saturday, per the team's official Twitter account:
Monday presents Billy Donovan's team with a matchup against a Miami squad it knocked off by six points on March 23 at home.
Westbrook and Steven Adams thrived in the victory, as they combined for 53 points, with 29 coming from Westbrook.
If the Thunder get past the sixth-place team in the East, they have an easy finish to the regular season at home against Memphis, who they are 3-0 against.
With the Grizzlies preferring to lose the game for NBA Draft lottery purposes, Oklahoma City shouldn't face much of a challenge.
If it wins its final two games, Oklahoma City should be able to avoid the Warriors and earn the No. 6 seed, since the Pelicans and Spurs play each other Wednesday.
If that is the case, the Thunder would most likely face Portland, who beat them in all four regular-season meetings.
Miami, Milwaukee Lose Ground to Washington
Miami and Milwaukee are at a disadvantage heading into the postseason, as they are going to face one of the top teams in the East.
There's a chance the current No. 6 and No. 7 seeds drop a spot each and fall victim to a late surge by the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards, which sets them both up with showdowns against Toronto and Boston.
The one-game advantage the Heat and Bucks hold over the Wizards could be eliminated over the next three days, as Miami plays Oklahoma City on Monday and Milwaukee visits Philadelphia on Wednesday.
With the Wizards closing against the depleted Boston and Orlando, they have a chance to make up their deficit, especially if they knock off the Celtics, who are already locked into the No. 2 seed.
The two games to end the season are the perfect remedy for the Wizards, who stumbled down the stretch but just received a boost with the return of John Wall.
Two victories by the Wizards, combined with losses by the Heat to Oklahoma City and Toronto would hand Washington the top spot in the Southeast Division and boost them into the No. 6 seed.
Even if the Bucks split their remaining contests against the Magic and 76ers, they wouldn't be able to take over the Wizards because Washington holds a superior conference record.
Not only would Washington's end-of-season success hurt Milwaukee in the playoff standings, it could potentially take its first-round pick away since it is protected if the Bucks earn a selection between 17th and 30th.
The Bucks would lose their first-round selection to Phoenix unless they pull off a miraculous upset over the Raptors or Celtics.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from NBA.com.
