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The NBA playoffs kicked off in a big way yesterday with half of the field playing their first games. But today’s games are going to feature some of the heavier hitters – including last year’s NBA Finals participants.
Four games are slated for Sunday’s lineup of NBA playoff games. Starting things off at 1:00 p.m. EST will be the East’s top seeded Miami Heat hosting the Atlanta Hawks.
At 3:30 p.m. EST the Boston-New York rivalry gets renewed again with the Brooklyn Nets taking on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Then 6:30 p.m. the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks battle the 6-seeded Chicago Bulls.
Wrapping up the day’s games will be the reigning Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns hosting the New Orleans Pelicans. That game tips off at 9:00 p.m. EST.
Here’s the full schedule for today’s games (all times EST):
- Hawks at Heat, 1 pm, TNT
- Nets at Celtics, 3:30 pm, ABC
- Bulls at Bucks, 6:30 pm, TNT
- Pelicans at Suns, 9 pm, TNT
Of the four games, few are expected to be particularly close. The Nets-Celtics game has the lowest spread with the Celtics entering the game at -4.5 points.
Milwaukee and Phoenix are expected to trounce their opponents by double digits and enter as 10.5-point favorites each.
But as the 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies learned the hard way, being the favorite doesn’t mean much once the ball is in play. They lost by 13 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves at home yesterday.
Which of the four playoff matches are you most looking forward to?