NBA Playoff Bracket 2018: Updated TV Schedule, Live Stream, Predictions
One of the most anticipated sets of NBA conference finals begins Sunday in Boston.
While the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets deserves the spotlight-stealing hype it's getting, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers' Eastern Conference Finals should produce a similar level of intrigue.
The West features a showdown of superstars, as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green take on James Harden and Chris Paul.
LeBron James might be the main name on the marquee in the East, but he's far from the only difference-maker in the series, as the Celtics proved in the first two rounds they are capable of challenging anyone.
TV and Live-Stream Schedule
All Times ET.
Sunday, May 13
Game 1: Cleveland at Boston (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Monday, May 14
Game 1: Golden State at Houston (9 p.m., TNT)
Tuesday, May 15
Game 2: Cleveland at Boston (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
Wednesday, May 16
Game 2: Golden State at Houston (9 p.m., TNT)
Saturday, May 19
Game 3: Boston at Cleveland (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
Sunday, May 20
Game 3: Houston at Golden State (8 p.m., TNT)
Monday, May 21
Game 4: Boston at Cleveland (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
Tuesday, May 22
Game 4: Houston at Golden State (9 p.m., TNT)
Wednesday, May 23
Game 5: Cleveland at Boston (8:30 p.m., ESPN)*
Thursday, May 24
Game 5: Golden State at Houston (9 p.m., TNT)*
Friday, May 25
Game 6: Boston at Cleveland (8:30 p.m., ESPN)*
Saturday, May 26
Game 6: Houston at Golden State (9 p.m., TNT)*
Sunday, May 27
Game 7: Cleveland at Boston (8:30 p.m., ESPN)*
Monday, May 28
Game 7: Golden State at Houston (9 p.m., TNT)*
*If necessary
Eastern Conference games live-streamed on WatchESPN or ESPN app; Western Conference games live-streamed on TNTdrama.com or TNT app.
Predictions
Boston over Cleveland
The debate taking NBA Twitter by storm recently will be determined on the court in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Some people are asking whether you would rather start your team with a franchise player in James or arguably the league's best coach in Brad Stevens.
At the start of the year, the Boston-Cleveland matchup would have possessed plenty of intriguing storylines, with the main one based on Kyrie Irving facing his former team with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line.
With Irving and Gordon Hayward on the sidelines, however, the Celtics pieced everything together with Stevens being the mastermind of it all.
Sure, the players had to execute throughout the first two rounds, but Stevens was the X-factor in the second-round win over the Philadelphia 76ers, as he outcoached Brett Brown.
Boston even dealt with an injury to Jaylen Brown and found a way into the final four of the NBA postseason. Although players deserve credit for rallying around each other, Stevens needs more praise than he's getting.
Terry Rozier has been the catalyst of Boston's playoff run, as he is second on the team in postseason points per game, with 18.2. Jayson Tatum leads the Celtics, with 18.8 points per contest.
Al Horford found a new gear in the series against Philadelphia, as he became a frontcourt enforcer against Joel Embiid, and he will need to feature in a similar role when Kevin Love and James crash into the paint.
Brown, Horford, Rozier and Tatum can't take a night off, and they have to outperform Cleveland's supporting cast while getting contributions from players like Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris.
The Cavaliers became a more dangerous team in the second-round throttling of the Toronto Raptors thanks to Love's emergence as a second scorer.
Love's 14.7 points per game over 11 games is a nice complement to James' absurd 34.3 points per contest in the postseason.
Beneath James and Love, the production drops off a bit, which means the Cavs need to rely on a few players to come up with big shots throughout the series, including Jeff Green, Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith.
While silencing James may seem like the easy game plan for the Celtics, their defensive focus should be on Love and the supporting cast.
If James is the only player on the Cleveland roster finding any success, the Celtics can find a way to limit his big-shot potential in late-game scenarios or make sure the game is out of reach by the final few minutes of the fourth quarter.
With that being said, James is going to win a game or two by himself because of the elite skill set he possesses.
It all comes down to Boston limiting those moments while benefiting from Stevens' schemes. It won't be easy, but the Celtics have the potential to pull the series out in six or seven games.
Golden State over Houston
The series we have been waiting for all season is finally here.
Golden State and Houston wasted little time looking ahead to the Western Conference Finals, as they took care of the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz, respectively, as they turned their play into another gear.
Little separates the Warriors and Rockets, as they are second and third in defensive points per game in the postseason and two of the top three scoring teams.
If you think each game of the West finals is going to easily eclipse 100 points by the middle of the fourth quarter, you are probably right.
Although defense will shine in a game or two thanks to an impressive individual performance, it's likely the series turns into a shooting contest between Curry and Thompson and Harden.
Add in Kevin Durant's 28 points per game in the postseason and Draymond Green's intangibles, and you would think the Warriors shouldn't have a problem with the Rockets.
While you are not wrong for thinking the Warriors have more firepower on offense, the Rockets pack a strong punch as well.
Houston leads the NBA in three-pointers per game in the playoffs, with 14.1, which is more than three field goals ahead of Boston in second at 10.9.
Between Harden and Paul, the Rockets have the marquee scorers they need to take down the Warriors, but they are going to need the collection of Nene Hilario, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela to produce in the frontcourt.
As long as the Rockets thrive with a well-rounded offense and find a way to take the three-point line away from the Warriors during stretches of games, they will be in position to end Golden State's reign.
There's no doubt it's going to be an intriguing series, but until the Warriors are challenged and taken down, it's hard to pick against them.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
