Conference finals
(Best of seven; x-if necessary)
Eastern Conference
Cleveland vs. Boston
Sunday: At Boston, 12:30 p.m. Tuesday: At Boston, 5:30 p.m. May 19: At Cleveland, 5:30 p.m. May 21: At Cleveland, 5:30 p.m. x-may 23: At Boston, 5:30 p.m. x-may 25: At Cleveland, 5:30 p.m. x-may 27: At Boston, 5:30 p.m. Western Conference
Houston vs. Golden State
Monday: At Houston, 6 p.m. (TNT) Wednesday: At Houston, 6 p.m. May 20: At Golden State, 5 p.m. May 22: At Golden State, 6 p.m. x-may 24: At Houston, 6 p.m. (TNT) x-may 26: At Golden State, 6 p.m. x-may 28: At Houston, 6 p.m. (TNT) this round.
Of the 68 teams that have taken 1-0 series leads in the conference finals, 57 have gone on to make the NBA Finals. But four times in the last seven years, a team has dropped Game 1 in this round and made The Finals anyway.
More days off?
The NBA Finals start May 31. That means there could be a lot of days without basketball before then.
If both series end in sweeps — unlikely, of course, but possible — the Boston-cleveland winner would have 10 days off before The Finals and the Houston-golden State winner would have nine.
Starting Thursday, there will be no games five times in a nine-day span. There’s no games until Sunday, and there’s no games in either series on May 17 and 18. Those needing a basketball fix on those last two days, fret not — there will be NBA Combine activities going on in Chicago on those two days.
Pool update
The NBA’S playoff pool for this season is $20 million, and here’s a look at how much the four remaining teams have made so far in this postseason — along with a look at what they could get.
Rockets: $2,322,122. Would finish with $4,669,069 if they lose the NBA Finals, $5,864,018 if they win the title.
Celtics and Warriors: $1,646,226 each so far. They’d get $3,993,173 if they reach The Finals and lose, $5,188,122 if they win the championship.
Cavaliers: $1,478,543. Would finish with $3,825,490 if they lose the NBA Finals, $5,020,439 if they win the title.
Teams use the playoff pool largely for bonuses for players and staff after the season. The 12 playoff teams that have already been eliminated will be getting checks adding up to about $7 million from the league.