Playoffs tip off today
The NBA playoffs officially begin Saturday, April 18 with a full opening-day slate that includes Raptors‑at‑Cavs at 1:00 p.m. ET, Timberwolves‑at‑Nuggets at 3:30 p.m. ET, Hawks‑at‑Knicks at 6:00 p.m. ET, and Rockets‑at‑Lakers at 8:30 p.m. ET — all on ABC/Prime platforms. (x.com) The league calendar also shows the postseason running toward an NBA Finals start date of June 3 on ABC. (espn.com)
The National Basketball Association playoffs open Saturday, April 18, with four Game 1s that start a postseason scheduled to run to June 3. (nba.com) Saturday’s slate begins with Toronto at Cleveland at 1 p.m. Eastern, followed by Minnesota at Denver at 3:30 p.m., Atlanta at New York at 6 p.m., and Houston at Los Angeles at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. Prime Video carries the first three games, and ABC has Rockets-Lakers in prime time. (nba.com) The bracket was finalized Friday night when Orlando beat Charlotte 121-90 for the East’s No. 8 seed and Phoenix beat Golden State 111-96 for the West’s No. 8 seed. Earlier in the week, Philadelphia claimed the East’s No. 7 seed and Portland took the West’s No. 7 seed. (espn.com) That left eight first-round series set in a bracket that does not reseed after each round. Every series is best-of-seven in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the better regular-season team hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. (espn.com) In the East, top-seeded Detroit will face Orlando, Boston will play Philadelphia, New York drew Atlanta, and Cleveland opens against Toronto. In the West, defending champion Oklahoma City meets Phoenix, San Antonio faces Portland, Denver gets Minnesota, and the Lakers drew Houston. (espn.com) The standings set up a different East than the one that opened last postseason. Detroit finished 60-22 for the conference’s No. 1 seed, Boston went 56-26 for No. 2, New York finished 53-29 for No. 3, and Cleveland closed at 52-30 for No. 4. (nba.com) The West still runs through Oklahoma City on paper after the Thunder finished 64-18 and secured a third straight No. 1 seed. San Antonio followed at 62-20, Denver finished 54-28, the Lakers went 53-29, Houston finished 52-30, and Minnesota entered at 49-33. (espn.com) This postseason is also opening under the league’s new media setup. NBA.com’s official schedule lists first-round games across Prime Video, ABC, NBC, Peacock and ESPN, with Game 1 of the Finals set for June 3 on ABC. (nba.com) Sunday brings the other four series openers: Philadelphia at Boston at 1 p.m. Eastern, Phoenix at Oklahoma City at 3:30 p.m., Orlando at Detroit at 6:30 p.m., and Portland at San Antonio at 9 p.m. Eastern. By then, all 16 playoff teams will be on the board and every first-round matchup will be underway. (nba.com)
