NBA Playoff Schedule 2020: Viewing Guide, Odds, Conference Finals' Predictions

The 2020 NBA playoffs has been a launching pad for a select group of future superstars.

Enter Jamal Murray.

After dropping 40 points in a must-win Game 7 to ouster the Los Angeles Clippers after overcoming a 3-1 deficit to advance to the Western Conference Finals, he had only one request: put some respect on the Denver Nuggets' name.

Now, as Murray, Nikola Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets prepare to take on the Los Angeles Lakers, that likely won't be a problem.

In the East, the Miami Heat will be looking to build on their Game 1 win, while the Boston Celtics are out to even things up and make it a series.

Western Conference Finals

No. 3 Celtics vs. No. 5 Heat

Game 1: Heat 117, Celtics 114

Game 2: Thursday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m., ESPN

Game 3: Saturday, Setp. 19, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Game 4: TBD, ESPN

Game 5*: TBD, ESPN

Game 6*: TBD, ESPN

Game 7*: TBD, ESPN

* if necessary

No one saw Miami coming, except maybe Jimmy Butler.

Somehow, the recently selected member of the All-NBA Third Team has convinced the rest of his teammates to believe in their chances of winning a championship and they are playing like it.

"I think my confidence in my guys grows every single second," Butler told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. "They’re not scared of any team. I have all the faith in these guys."

The Heat are a well-oiled machine, and with a record of 9-1—they have the best record in the playoffs—and with the kind of late-game heroics they have been displaying, they are starting to make everyone else believe in them, too.

As for Boston, they are still very much in this series. Before going to overtime in Game 1, the Celtics had a comfortable 14-point lead that they let slip away in the fourth quarter.

No lead is safe against Miami, which is why Boston will need better production from Kemba Walker.

While he did finish with 19 points and six assists, he shot an inefficient 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) from the floor and was even worse from behind the arc, connecting on 1-of-9 (11.1 percent).

"I'm just playing terrible, to be honest," Walker told ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "Not much I can say, but I have to be better. I have to do better for this team on both ends of the floor. I have to make better decisions. I just have to make shots overall."

If Walker can elevate his level of play to that of Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have a good chance to prevail on Thursday night to even the series at 1-1.

FanDuel has the Heat winning the series, but Boston has plenty of time to change that.

Eastern Conference Finals

No. 1 Lakers vs. No. 3 Nuggets

Game 1: Friday, Sept. 18, 9 p.m., TNT

Game 2: Sunday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., TNT

Game 3: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 9 p.m., TNT

Game 4: Thursday, Sept. 24, 9 p.m., TNT

Game 5*: Saturday, Sept. 26, 9 p.m., TNT

Game 6*: TBD, TNT

Game 7*: TBD, TNT

* if necessary

No matter what happens in the WCF, the Nuggets have overwhelmingly proved that they belong in the contender conversation.

The Joker continues to show why he was selected as a member of the 2020 All-NBA Second Team, and Murray, who is averaging team-highs in points (26.9) and assists (6.4) in these playoffs, has officially arrived as a superstar, and the Lakers had better be ready to contend with him.

L.A. head coach Frank Vogel is definitely aware that his team will have its hands full with the fourth-year player out of Kentucky.

"It's really remarkable what he's been able to do during this playoff run," Vogel told Allie Clifton and Mike Bresnaham of Spectrum SportsNet. "Losing Will Barton in the rotation and Gary Harris being hurt for a while led to Jamal being a lot more aggressive offensively. With that, he was able to put up some crazy numbers and really get into a great rhythm."

"Seems like we're getting the hottest player in the league in just about every playoff series. Damian Lillard, James Harden, and now it's Jamal Murray."

L.A. will likely run a few players at Murray to keep him from filling up the stat sheet, and Anthony Davis will have to step up and defend Jokic and keep him from racking up another triple-double.

"He [Murray] and Joker are playing at an extremely high level," Vogel added. "We gotta make sure we stick to the things that are working for us in the first couple of rounds, on defense, and try to apply it to this series."

What has been working for the Lakers is the dynamic play of LeBron James and Davis, who average a combined 67.4 points per game in the postseason.

They don't have a consistent third option, so they'll need Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green and Rajon Rondo to keep elevating their level of play.

L.A. has the best odds to win this series, but with the way Denver has overcome back-to-back 3-1 deficits, it's hard to count the underdogs out until it loses four games.

Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport

Statistics obtained from NBA.com