NBA Playoff Schedule 2020: Odds, Times, TV Schedule and Storylines for Finals

The best NBA Finals matchups have storylines fans can latch on to, and the 2020 edition of the series has plenty to like when the Los Angeles Lakers meet the Miami Heat. 

LeBron James finds himself in the 10th Finals of his career. A win in the series would give him his fourth title with three different teams, and he finds himself at the center of more than one storyline when it comes to this series. 

James' move to the Lakers took two seasons to result in a Finals appearance. After missing out on the playoffs altogether last season, the team acquired Anthony Davis and formed the duo that has gone 12-3 in securing their spot in the championship. 

The Heat return to the Finals for the first time since James donned their colors. Coming in as the fifth seed this was far from expected, but they are the team that took down the favored Milwaukee Bucks and didn't back down when faced with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

In all, the Heat have mirrored the 12-3 record of their Western Conference counterparts but still enter the series as considerable underdogs. 

2020 NBA Finals Odds

To Win the Series

• Lakers -360 ($460 bet wins $100)
• Heat +260 ($100 bet wins $260)

MVP

• LeBron James -165
• Anthony Davis +300
• Jimmy Butler +750
• Bam Adebayo +900

Series Odds

• Lakers in 4: +460
• Lakers in 5: +290
• Lakers in 6: +320
• Lakers in 7: +470
• Heat in 4: +3600
• Heat in 5: +1500
• Heat in 6: +950
• Heat in 7: +700

Odds via FanDuel.

2020 NBA Finals Schedule

All games broadcast and live-streamed on ABC; all times ET. 

Game 1: Wednesday, September 30 at 9 p.m.

Game 2: Friday, October 2 at 9 p.m.

Game 3: Sunday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Game 4: Tuesday, October 6 at 9 p.m.

Game 5*: Friday, October 9 at 9 p.m.

Game 6*: Sunday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Game 7*: Tuesday, October 13 at 9 p.m.

*if necessary

Storylines to Watch

Team vs. Stars

If you're going simply by who has the better stars, there's no escaping the Lakers. James and Davis are the reason why they have been installed as the favorites. 

The two forwards combine for 55.5 points, 19.6 rebounds and 12.5 assists per game, while Davis is the primary rim protector and James typically defends one of the opposing team's best scoring options. To put it in more perspective, the duo accounts for 48.7 percent of the team's points, 40.2 percent of the rebounds and 48.2 percent of the assists on a per-game basis. 

That's just looking at averages. Either player has the ability to take over a game, and the two combining to score 80 isn't unfathomable. 

The Heat on the other hand are much more balanced. The team is relatively deep and has six players scoring in double digits through the postseason. Butler and Goran Dragic are both over 20 points per game with Bam Adebayo (18.5) and Tyler Herro (16.5) not too far behind. 

If the Heat can find ways to limit King James and AD the Lakers don't have much to fall back on short of Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope getting hot. 

Miami, meanwhile, could rely on a number of guys to carry the offensive load if the Lakers decide to take away a specific player. 

The dynamic of stars vs. depth has played out in the Finals multiple times with different results. This matchup is going to add another chapter to that story, and the results should be interesting. 

Bam vs. AD

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo both enter their first Finals appearances with much different storylines. For AD, this is the culmination of being traded to a winning organization. Davis has always been considered an elite talent, but he's never had the opportunity to prove it in a deep playoff run. 

For Adebayo, his ascent to stardom is just beginning. He was arguably the best player for the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, averaging a double-double and blocking Jayson Tatum's potential game-winner in Game 1. 

The battle for who will be the best big in this series is fascinating. Davis often plays alongside a more true center. Javale McGree and Dwight Howard will both likely get some time, but Adebayo is unleashed by Miami in different roles as well. 

The Heat aren't likely to get LeBron James-like numbers from Jimmy Butler, but it is possible that Adebayo can replicate what Davis brings to the Lakers. If that's the case, the Heat will have a real shot in this series, so this matchup is going to be an important one to monitor. 

Spoelstra vs. LeBron

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Erik Spoelstra should know LeBron James' game well. It might get mentioned a time or two that James played under Spoelstra for two of his championship seasons with the Heat. 

Since then, Spoelstra has established himself as one of the best coaches in the NBA. When James was in South Beach, it was easy to write off Spoelstra's success as the by-product of having Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and James all on one roster. 

Given the Heat's success after James' departure and their current run to the Finals there's no denying the effect the coach has had on the roster. So now the question becomes whether Spoelstra can scheme some ways to stop—or at least slow down—his future star. 

The Heat have an interesting combination of possibilities to throw at him. Butler, Adebayo and even Andre Iguodala could all give him different problems, and then there's the 2-3 zone that the team had success with at times against the Celtics. 

Ultimately, this could be the matchup that has the biggest impact on the series. If James is able to put together a peak series for him with some help from Anthony Davis there's very little the Heat can do to counteract that. 

However, if the Heat can do just enough to throw James off his game, they can force Davis and Co. to make up for the lost production. That could be the recipe for an intriguing series and even a Heat upset.