Bucks vs. Celtics and Raptors vs. 76ers NBA Playoff Schedule 2019 Released

The NBA released the schedule for the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday, with the action getting underway Saturday.

The Toronto Raptors will host the Philadelphia 76ers, with the tipoff time yet to be finalized. The Milwaukee Bucks host the Boston Celtics on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat and NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg shared the full slate for the series.

According to Vegas Insider, the Bucks are the heavy favorites (10-11) to win the Eastern Conference. They're followed by the Raptors (5-2), Celtics (4-1) and Sixers (7-1).

None of the four teams were seriously challenged in the first round, so the conference semifinals should weed out the true title contenders.

The Bucks finished first in net rating (8.6) during the regular season, per NBA.com, and easily dispatched the Detroit Pistons. The franchise's playoff track record—eight straight first-round exits prior to this year—raises some doubt as to how big of a leap Milwaukee can take in Mike Budenholzer's first season in charge.

Boston looked good when knocking the Indiana Pacers out in four games. Consistency has been a problem for the Celtics all year, though, and the Pacers were without Victor Oladipo. Playing the top-seeded Bucks will either be a reality check for Boston or the moment everything comes together for Brad Stevens' squad.

The Sixers, meanwhile, have to work around an injury to Joel Embiid. Embiid missed Philadelphia's Game 3 win and averaged 24.3 minutes per game in the series. That's not good for a team with such a top-heavy roster.

Toronto got off to the worst start possible, dropping Game 1 to the Orlando Magic at home. The Raptors eased some of the fear their fans undoubtedly felt by blowing the Magic out in Games 3 and 4. But considering Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam accounted for 47.4 percent (50.4 points) of the team's offense (106.4 points), Nick Nurse needs more from his supporting cast.

The first round was largely anticlimactic as the East's four best teams were head and shoulders better than the rest of the conference. Now is when things will start to get interesting.