NBA Playoff Schedule 2019: TV Coverage, Saturday Live-Stream Guide and Picks
Not only will the first round of the NBA playoffs end with an exciting Game 7 matchup on Saturday, but the second round will begin with a contest between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
The Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs will play to see which squad becomes the final team to advance to the second round, while the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers open what should be a competitive second-round series.
The Spurs are looking to become the only lower-seeded team to win their first-round series, as the higher-seeded team won each of the other seven.
Saturday Schedule (All Times ET)
Both games can be streamed live on Watch TNT
Game 1: Philadelphia at Toronto, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 7: San Antonio at Denver, 10 p.m., TNT
Saturday Picks
Toronto over Philadelphia
The Raptors and 76ers each made quick work of their first-round opponents, winning their respective series in five games. Toronto took down the Orlando Magic, while Philadelphia defeated the Brooklyn Nets.
This is only the second time these two teams are meeting in the playoffs. In 2001, the 76ers won a seven-game series against the Raptors.
Toronto is the better team this time, and it will open the series with a Game 1 victory on its home court. Philadelphia has lost 13 straight games in Toronto, and that streak will continue Saturday night.
"It's gonna be fun," Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said, according to Sportsnet's Dave Zarum. "It's a good series. There's talent all over the place."
This should be a competitive series as wins will likely be traded between the two teams. But the Raptors will take control early and go on to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second time in franchise history.
San Antonio over Denver
The Spurs forced a Game 7 with a home victory in Game 6, and now they'll carry that momentum into the series finale in Denver. San Antonio has shown that it is capable of beating Denver, and it will pull out a win in a close, exciting contest.
Although the Spurs are a better team at home, they notched a win in Denver back in Game 1. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has led many past Spurs teams to success, and he'll guide this year's squad to at least the second round.
"He always has a calm to him," San Antonio guard DeMar DeRozan said, according to ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk. "It wears off on us. ... We understood what we had to come in here and do [in Game 6]. Wasn't much [that] needed to be said."
The Spurs were eliminated in the first round in two of the previous four seasons, including last year, but they won't allow that to happen again in these playoffs.
The Nuggets haven't won a playoff series since 2009, and that drought will extend for at least one more year.
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