NBA Playoff Schedule 2019: Dates, Game Times and TV Info for Conference Finals
And then there were four.
Of the 30 teams in the NBA's 2018-19 race for the crown, 26 have been sent to their summer vacations.
In the East, only the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors are still standing. In the West, it's the defending champion Golden State Warriors against the resilient Portland Trail Blazers.
If this round is anything like the last, hoop heads are in for a treat. Let's look ahead at the scheduling and broadcast information for the conference finals, before examining the latest buzz.
2019 Conference Finals Schedule
Eastern Conference
Game 1: Wednesday, May 15, Raptors at Bucks, 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 2: Friday, May 17, Raptors at Bucks, 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 3: Sunday, May 19, Bucks at Raptors, 7 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 4: Tuesday, May 21, Bucks at Raptors, 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
*Game 5: Thursday, May 23, Raptors at Bucks, 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
*Game 6: Saturday, May 25, Bucks at Raptors, 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
*Game 7: Monday, May 27, Raptors at Bucks, 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
*if necessary
Western Conference
Game 1: Tuesday, May 14, Blazers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 2: Thursday, May 16, Blazers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, May 18, Warriors at Blazers, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 4: Monday, May 20, Warriors at Blazers, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
*Game 5: Wednesday, May 22, Blazers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
*Game 6: Friday, May 24, Warriors at Blazers, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
*Game 7: Sunday, May 26, Blazers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
*if necessary
Latest Buzz
Kevin Durant Still Has 'Time Ahead' In Recovery
Durant's brilliant postseason was disrupted—though maybe not completely derailed as initially feared—by a calf strain suffered in Game 5 of the conference semis.
As a source told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, he is out at least for Game 1 of the conference finals and unlikely to go in Game 2:
While Durant's injury could have been worse, he's not exactly out of the woods, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr reminded reporters.
"He hasn't even stepped on the floor yet," Kerr said on Monday. "... He still has pain. So there's time ahead of him on the rehab process."
The Dubs survived their first test without the two-time Finals MVP, eliminating the Houston Rockets in a critical Game 6 behind 60 combined points from siblings in splash Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. But one look at the postseason-long stat sheet highlights Durant's incredible importance.
Despite missing one game and ranking just fourth in total minutes, the 30-year-old is the team's scoring leader by a healthy margin (376 points, Curry is next with 291). He has also put together a brilliant 51.3/41.6/90.1 shooting slash, while the Warriors have fared 11.8 points better per 100 possessions with him than without.
Golden State probably has enough to get by without him, but its margin for error shrinks the longer he's out.
Damian Lillard: Blazers 'Know We Are Capable of Beating Them'
Portland's All-Star point guard may have provided a bit of bulletin-board material while trying to take down another.
At his first media session, Lillard dismissed a report that he'd told a Pepsi Center ball boy the Dubs were "due" for an upset. But in correcting that claim—"I didn't say that," he remarked, "I wasn't even talking about the Warriors"—he had to go on record about his club's chances.
Let's just say, the Blazers aren't backing down from this challenge.
"I'm really confident," Lillard told reporters. "... We split the season series with them. We've won on their floor and on our floor. So, I think that shows we know we are capable of winning. We know we are capable of beating them. We just have to go out there and do it. Put it on the floor."
Everything the 28-year-old said is technically correct. The two clubs did split their four contests, and each picked up a victory inside the other's home arena.
But the playoffs are a different kind of animal. The Blazers are fighting an uphill battle, and they're doing so without Jusuf Nurkic and maybe Rodney Hood, the team's fourth-leading scorer this postseason.
The Warriors might be itching to show Lillard the difference between being capable of winning a series and actually putting victories on the board.
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