Cavaliers open Eastern Conference finals at Knicks in Game 1

The Cleveland Cavaliers open the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, with Game 1 scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN said the series will air exclusively on its networks, making the opener the first game of the matchup to reach a national U.S. audience under that arrangement. Cleveland reached the round after eliminating Detroit in Game 7 on May 17, while New York entered the series as the No. 3 seed in the East. ### Why is this series opening in New York? NBA.com’s playoff bracket lists New York as the higher remaining Eastern Conference seed, with the Knicks shown as No. 3 and the Cavaliers as No. 4. That gives the Knicks home court to begin the best-of-seven series, with Games 1 and 2 set for Madison Square Garden before the matchup shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4. (espnpressroom.com) Tuesday’s opener is the first Eastern Conference finals game for Cleveland without LeBron James on the roster since 1992, according to NBA.com’s game summary page. The same page says the Cavaliers have never reached the NBA Finals without James, adding a historical marker to the series as it begins. ### How did Cleveland get here? Cleveland advanced on May 17 by beating Detroit in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. (nba.com) CBS Sports’ updated playoff bracket said the Cavaliers’ win completed the final four, setting Knicks-Cavaliers in the East and Thunder-Spurs in the West. ESPN’s playoff coverage and bracket pages show Cleveland emerging from the lower half of the Eastern bracket to face New York after the Knicks won their own semifinal series. (nba.com) NBA.com’s conference-finals page lists the series as beginning Tuesday with both teams entering 0-0. (cbssports.com) ### What exactly is ESPN putting around Game 1? ESPN Press Room said Mike Breen will call the series with analysts Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler and reporter Lisa Salters. The network said “NBA Tip-Off” will serve as the pregame show with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, and that “Inside the NBA” will air after each game. Draymond Green is also scheduled to appear as a guest analyst for select editions, ESPN said. (espn.com) A separate ESPN schedule page says the NBA Finals are set to begin on June 3 on ABC. That leaves the Eastern and Western conference finals on a compressed calendar through the end of May. ### What does the schedule look like from here? NBA.com’s conference-finals schedule lists Game 2 for Thursday, May 21, at 8 p.m. (espnpressroom.com) ET, Game 3 for Saturday, May 23, in Cleveland, and Game 4 for Monday, May 25. If needed, Game 5 is set for May 27, Game 6 for May 29 and Game 7 for May 31. The NBA’s official playoff schedule page says every game in the East finals is currently slotted for 8 p.m. (espn.com) ET. ESPN’s press release says the entire series will remain on ESPN networks. ### Who are the leading names entering the matchup? (nba.com) NBA.com’s series page lists Jalen Brunson as New York’s leading scorer entering the conference finals at 27.4 points per game and Donovan Mitchell as Cleveland’s at 25.6. The same page lists Brunson at 6.1 assists per game and Mitchell at 5.2 rebounds, framing the matchup around the two lead guards as the series opens. (espnpressroom.com) Game 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, at Madison Square Garden, and Game 2 is set for Thursday night in the same building before the series moves to Cleveland on May 23. (nba.com)