NBA Playoffs 2018: Schedule, Key Factors for Conference Championships
In four games or less, the 2018 NBA Finals matchup will be set.
There's no need to get ahead ourselves, though—not when the hyper-competitive conference finals have two series to sort out.
The Boston Celtics will get the first crack at punching their ticket to the championship round. All they have to do is dispatch LeBron James, something no Eastern Conference club has done since the 2009-10 Celtics.
Then it's the Houston Rockets' turn as they try to unseat the Golden State Warriors—perhaps without a healthy Chris Paul.
Heres a look at the remaining schedule and key factors for the conference championships.
2018 NBA Conference Finals Remaining Schedule
Eastern Conference
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 6—Friday, May 25: Celtics at Cavaliers, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
*Game 7—Sunday, May 27: Cavaliers at Celtics, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Western Conference
No. 1 Houston Rockets vs. No. 2 Golden State Warriors
Game 6—Saturday, May 26: Rockets at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on TNT
*Game 7—Monday, May 28: Warriors at Rockets, 9 p.m. ET on TNT
*If necessary
Can the Celtics Win Away From Home?
Boston has played seven road games so far this season. Six resulted in Celtics losses. The other was a three-point overtime victory in which the Philadelphia 76ers had so many late-game miscues that they even flubbed the confetti drop.
"We were great in the regular season on the road," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. "We were one of the better teams in the regular season. I don't have an answer for you in the playoffs."
It might have something to do with Kyrie Irving contributing to a lot of that previous success (28-13 in the regular season) and being unable to help with the current struggles. Minus Uncle Drew, the Celtics are extra-reliant on youngsters and guys who would normally be role players—two player types that don't typically travel well.
But Boston can't use that as a crutch.
The last thing the Celtics want is to face James in a do-or-die Game 7. As difficult as the road has been these playoffs, a win-or-go-fishing gauntlet against the King sounds worse.
Does LeBron Have Any Heroics Left?
Once Irving left Cleveland and a hobbled Isaiah Thomas failed to fill his shoes, James lost more than a sidekick—he also lost the ability to pace himself.
The 33-year-old played 82 games for the first time in his career; he averaged 74 appearances the previous five seasons. He led the Association in total minutes, something he last did in 2006-07. He never had anyone he could hand the team over to, so he's basically had it on his back from opening night.
That burden could finally be taking a toll.
Even though James still tallied 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in Game 5, he didn't quite look like himself. He attempted four free throws after taking 33 the previous three contests. He shot just 1-of-6 outside after hitting half of his triples in Games 2 through 4. His 15.3 game score was his second-lowest of the postseason.
"I thought he looked a little tired," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said, per Nora Princiotti of the Boston Globe.
Cleveland can't afford anything less than James' best.
A dominant effort from him doesn't guarantee a victory, but if he's only pretty good or worse, the Cavs have little hope of surviving. He's averaging 37.4 points on 59.2 percent shooting in their playoff wins and "only" 26.2 points on 45.9 percent in their defeats.
What, If Anything, Can Chris Paul Give?
James Harden has battled inefficiency this series, while Houston's support shooters have been hit or miss. And yet, the Rockets hold a 3-2 advantage on the champs thanks in large part to the play of point guard Chris Paul.
The nine-time All-Star followed up a dominant Game 4 (27 points on 50 percent shooting) with some of the biggest second-half buckets in Thursday's 98-94 win, scoring 18 of his 20 points after intermission.
But he wasn't around to celebrate the win, as an apparent hamstring injury prematurely ended his night in the final minute. The Rockets don't know the severity of his ailment, but head coach Mike D'Antoni didn't sound optimistic in his postgame comments:
Paul's status likely determines whether there's still a series going forward or not.
The Warriors are in trouble. They haven't looked the same since losing Andre Iguodala to a leg contusion in Game 3, and their offensive machine is malfunctioning at the worst possible time. Golden State has scored 94 points or fewer in consecutive contests for only the second time this season, and if there's any movement away from the ball, it looks like guys are running through mud.
And none of that probably matters unless Paul is available and somewhere near 100 percent.
Golden State has the talent to survive missteps. This is one of its worst stretches all season, and it's lost two games by a total of seven points to this season's top team.
Without Paul, Houston has to play perfect and catch multiple breaks to have any hope of winning once in two tries; with Paul, though, the Rockets could be Finals-bound for the first time in more than two decades.
Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
