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| The Curry brothers! Seth (Trail Blazers), on the left & Stephen (Warriors), on the right |
The Conference Finals To Begin on Tuesday Night with Trail Blazers-Warriors Game 1; Eastern Conference Finals Begin Wednesday Night with Bucks-Raptors Game 1
ESPN to Exclusively Televise Western Conference Finals: (3) Portland vs. (1) Golden State
TNT to Exclusively Eastern Conference Finals: (2) Toronto vs. (1) Milwaukee
The Conference Finals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs will begin on the evening of Tuesday, May 14th. Oracle Arena will be the scene for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors will host Seth Curry and the Portland Trail Blazers. ESPN will televise the game, with coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Steph & Seth's WCF meeting will mark the first time that two brothers will be playing against each other in a Conference Final series. The Warriors 2019 WCF appearance will mark their 5th consecutive trip (2015-2018). The Trail Blazers 2019 WCF appearance will mark their first trip since the Rasheed Wallace days back in 2000 (they lost against the Lakers that year). In the last round, the Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets in 6 games albeit without the services of their star Kevin Durant towards the end due to a right calf strain he suffered in game 5. The Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets in 7 games with dazzling performances from their outstanding backcourt of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard (ahem!). The key to this series is the Warriors' health. DeMarcus Cousins (who was injured earlier in the postseason) could return for this series. Durant will miss at least the first game and maybe more. For the Blazers, they continue to butcher demons that they have had in the past with playoff misery.
The other side of the bracket (Raptors-Bucks) will open on Wednesday, May 15th from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be televised on TNT, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. Many people have asserted that this series features two evenly matched teams. Only Milwaukee won more regular-season games this year than Toronto. In the Conference Semifinals, one team cruised and one team battled for 7 full games. The Bucks led by their star player Giannis Antetokoumnpo, defeated the Boston Celtics in 5 games (after Boston won Game 1 in Milwaukee). The Raptors led by their star player (and impeding free agent), Kawhi Leonard, defeated the Toronto Raptors in 7 games (with Leonard, of course, having the game-winner with a crazy shot at the final buzzer).
The following is a series-by-series and daily analysis of the Conference Finals (Subject to change):
2019 NBA PLAYOFFS | CONFERENCE FINALS
(Series-by-Series)
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (1) Milwaukee Bucks - Raptors win series, 4-2
* Game 1 - Wednesday, May 15 - Toronto Raptors @ Milwaukee Bucks - Fiserv Forum
TNT (8:30 PM ET): Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow (Sideline reporter).
* Game 2 - Friday, May 17 - Toronto Raptors @ Milwaukee Bucks - Fiserv Forum
TNT (8:30 PM ET): Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow (Sideline reporter).
* Game 3 - Sunday, May 19 - Milwaukee Bucks @ Toronto Raptors - Scotiabank Arena
TNT (7:00 PM ET): Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow (Sideline reporter).
* Game 4 - Tuesday, May 21 - Milwaukee Bucks @ Toronto Raptors - Scotiabank Arena
TNT (8:30 PM ET): Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow (Sideline reporter).
* Game 5 - Thursday, May 23 - Toronto Raptors @ Milwaukee Bucks - Fiserv Forum
TNT (8:30 PM ET): Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow (Sideline reporter).
* Game 6 - Saturday, May 25 - Milwaukee Bucks @ Toronto Raptors - Scotiabank Arena
TNT (8:30 PM ET): Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow (Sideline reporter).
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (1) Golden State Warriors - Warriors win series, 4-0
* Game 1 - Tuesday, May 14 - Portland Trail Blazers @ Golden State Warriors - Oracle Arena
ESPN (9:00 PM ET): Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke (Sideline reporter).
* Game 2 - Thursday, May 16 - Portland Trail Blazers @ Golden State Warriors - Oracle Arena
ESPN (9:00 PM ET): Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke (Sideline reporter).
* Game 3 - Saturday, May 18 - Golden State Warriors @ Portland Trail Blazers - Moda Center
ESPN (9:00 PM ET): Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke (Sideline reporter).
* Game 4 - Monday, May 20 - Golden State Warriors @ Portland Trail Blazers - Moda Center
ESPN (9:00 PM ET): Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke (Sideline reporter).
2019 NBA PLAYOFFS | CONFERENCE FINALS
(Daily Schedule)
* Tuesday, May 14th
Game 1: Trail Blazers at Warriors - ESPN, 9:00 p.m. - Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke
* Wednesday, May 15th
Game 1: Raptors at Bucks - TNT, 8:30 p.m. - Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow
* Thursday, May 16th
Game 2: Trail Blazers at Warriors - ESPN, 9:00 p.m. - Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke
* Friday, May 17th
Game 2: Raptors at Bucks - TNT, 8:30 p.m. - Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow
* Saturday, May 18th
Game 3: Warriors at Trail Blazers - ESPN, 9:00 p.m. - Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke
* Sunday, May 19th
Game 3: Bucks at Raptors - TNT, 7:00 p.m. - Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow
* Monday, May 20th
Game 4: Warriors at Trail Blazers - ESPN, 9:00 p.m. - Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doris Burke
* Tuesday, May 21st
Game 4: Bucks at Raptors - TNT, 8:30 p.m. - Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow
* Thursday, May 23rd
Game 5: Raptors at Bucks - TNT, 8:30 p.m. - Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow
* Saturday, May 25th
Game 6: Bucks at Raptors - TNT, 8:30 p.m. - Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Kristen Ledlow
