NBA Playoff Schedule 2018: How to Watch NBA Finals on TV and Live Stream
The reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors are on the brink of elimination heading into Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets, who grabbed a 3-2 series lead with their Game 5 victory Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are heading to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals after the Cavs leveled the series Friday night.
Let's check out the slate for the upcoming Finals series, which is scheduled to begin Thursday. That's followed by a quick look at the teams still in title contention.
2018 NBA Finals Schedule
Game 1 (May 31 at 9 p.m. ET): Celtics/Cavaliers at Warriors/Rockets
Game 2 (June 3 at 8 p.m. ET): Celtics/Cavaliers at Warriors/Rockets
Game 3 (June 6 at 9 p.m. ET): Warriors/Rockets at Celtics/Cavaliers
Game 4 (June 8 at 9 p.m. ET): Warriors/Rockets at Celtics/Cavaliers
Game 5 (June 11 at 9 p.m. ET): Celtics/Cavaliers at Warriors/Rockets
Game 6 (June 14 at 9 p.m. ET): Warriors/Rockets at Celtics/Cavaliers
Game 7 (June 17 at 8 p.m. ET): Celtics/Cavaliers at Warriors/Rockets
All games will be broadcast on ABC, with a live stream on WatchESPN.
Team Breakdown
Boston Celtics
The Celtics' journey to this point in the season has been anything but routine. They lost Gordon Hayward, one of the offseason's biggest acquisitions, minutes into the season. And Kyrie Irving's campaign also came to a premature end in March because of a knee injury.
Boston has continued to thrive thanks to solid across-the-board contributions from a rotation that can go eight or nine deep, led by Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. In addition, their success has been fueled by winning 10 straight home games to open the postseason.
Head coach Brad Stevens will be the postseason's biggest winner if the Celtics can go on to win the championship. Being able to reset the team's outlook after losing two of its most valuable assets represents one of the best coaching jobs in recent NBA history.
Cleveland Cavaliers
This playoff run is probably more important to the Cavaliers than any of the other remaining teams. While the Celtics, Warriors and Rockets are all primed for long-term success, the Cavs' future is far less certain, with LeBron James a potential free agent this summer.
If Cleveland is unable to steal Game 7 at TD Garden and James leaves the organization for a second time, an otherwise memorable return to the team will end with a whimper. The question is whether there is enough talent around him to make that happen.
The Cavs' role players have run hot and cold in the postseason. That's especially true during the current series against Boston. The likes of Kyle Korver, George Hill and JR Smith must step up Sunday to help James punch another ticket to the Finals, particularly if Kevin Love can't play because of a head injury.
Golden State Warriors
It's always hard to judge the Warriors until the latter stages of the postseason. There is so much talent on a roster featuring Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green that they are usually on autopilot until the conference finals.
The Dubs have followed the same pattern this season. They cruised to a 58-24 record during the regular season before eliminating the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans in five games apiece.
Golden State has been pushed to the limit by the Rockets, though. It will be intriguing to see how the star-studded team responds with its back against the wall in Game 6.
The odds are still in the Warriors' favor despite the deficit. OddsShark noted they are -130 favorites (wager $130 to win $100) to win the series to reach their fourth straight Finals.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets' chances of finishing off Golden State and potentially winning a title rest heavily on the right hamstring of Chris Paul.
Houston already ruled out the playmaking point guard for Game 6, giving him the maximum amount of recovery time before a potential Game 7. But it's unclear how close to 100 percent he will be able to get on three days' rest.
Two things must happen for the Rockets to close out the series if Paul can't return: James Harden—who's averaging 3.4 turnovers per game during the playoffs—must cut down his mistakes in a bigger ball-handling role, and Eric Gordon must step into the No. 2 scoring role.
A championship would be the franchise's first since it went back-to-back in 1994 and 1995.
