NBA Playoff Bracket 2018: Game Times, TV and Live-Stream Schedule for Friday
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are both 2-0 in their respective Eastern Conference matchups, but both series are far from over.
The same can be said in the Western Conference, which will see either the Houston Rockets or Utah Jazz take a 2-1 series lead in what looks to be the most compelling series in the playoffs, while the Golden State Warriors look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the New Orleans Pelicans.
After sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, the Pelicans haven't been able to carry that momentum into this series. However, returning home to New Orleans could give the Pelicans the fresh start they need to keep this series alive.
As for the Rockets, they lost home-court advantage in Game 2 to the Jazz and must win Friday night if they want any chance of taking this series back to Houston for Game 5 in a possible close-out game.
Before we get into any more pregame analysis, let's take a look at the information you'll need to know ahead of tip-off so you don't miss a second of the action.
Friday NBA Schedule
Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz
Game 3 in Utah: Friday, May 4, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Game 3 in New Orleans: Friday, May 4, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Live stream: WatchESPN.com
Will Game 3 be a Turning Point For The Jazz?
Game 2 was a great win for Utah. Highlighted by a monster put-back slam by rookie Donovan Mitchell and an exceptional shooting performance from Joe Ingles, the Jazz were able to prevent a series sweep and steal home-court advantage away from the Rockets.
Having said that, Game 3 will be crucial in determining if the Jazz are actual contenders in a competitive conference going up against the No. 1 seed.
The Rockets were out of sorts in Game 2. Give credit where credit is due to the Jazz defense, but the Rockets made careless mistakes with the ball and their shot selection—to say the least—left a lot to be desired.
James Harden scored a strong 32 points on the night but shot 9-of-22 from the field. More importantly, he only shot 2-of-10 from three-point territory. The Jazz can't bank on Harden staying cold from the perimeter, even if they put their best defenders on him.
But one player who proved to be able to slow down Harden at times was Dante Exum—a matchup we all saw coming, right?
Exum held Harden to just two points when he was defending him on 22 possessions. Coincidence? Maybe, but that's no small sample size.
Before we label Exum as a "Harden stopper" let's wait and see how Game 3 plays out before getting too excited about Utah's chances of being giant-killers.
Can the Pelicans stay alive?
In Game 1, the Warriors scored 123 points with Stephen Curry out injured. In Game 2, with Curry back in the rotation but coming off the bench, the Warriors scored 121 points.
It's safe to say that even with Curry absent, the Warriors are going to find ways to score. And the fact that he's back in the starting lineup for Friday night's game is only bad news for the Pelicans.
In all fairness to New Orleans, they've been strong on offense, scoring 101 and 116 points in their past two games but getting into a shootout with, arguably, the best scoring starting lineup in NBA history is a bad gameplan to have.
If the Pelicans go down 0-3 to the Warriors, the possibility of a sweep is just on the horizon. On the bright side, the Pelicans are back on their home court and away from the deafening playoff atmosphere of the Oracle Arena.
In Game 2, four Pelicans scored at least 18 points with three players scoring at least 22 points. Offense isn't the problem for this team. In order to have a chance in Game 3, the Pelicans have to hold the Warriors below the 47.2 shooting percentage they surrendered in Game 2 and get to the foul line more often.
In their last outing, the Pelicans converted 7-of-9 free throws on the game while the Warriors converted 22-of-27 from the charity stripe. That's quite the disparity in a game that was decided by five points.
Look for a more aggressive Pelicans team on both ends of the floor. While this isn't technically an elimination game, the Pelicans will have to play like it's a Game 7 to have a shot in this series against the defending champs.
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