The NBA playoffs will begin on April 14: the best eight teams from the East and the best eight teams from the West will compete to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy
The time of the year most awaited by NBA fans has arrived: the playoffs. On April 14 will begin that part of the year in which lovers of basketball stars and stripes will make the wee hours to see all the games that will be played on the night. A marathon that will last a month and a half and will end on May 31 with the start of the Finals.
On one side there will be the eight best teams of the East, while on the other side the eight best teams of the West. On one side there will be LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan and our Marco Belinelli, who since he arrived at the Phialdelphia 76ers is playing the best basketball of his career; on the other side there will be Golden State’s fab four (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green), Chris Paul’s and James Harden’s Houston Rockets and San Antonio’s “old boys”, ready for the umpteenth miracle of their career.
In contrast to the past years, when Golden State started with the favors of the prediction, it is really very complicated to understand who can win the Larry O’Bien Trophy. Mike D’Antoni’s Houston Rockets seem to be the most likely to win the Trophy: besides having the best record of the season, they have shown the best basketball of the league for long stretches. But they will first have to deal with Golden State (if they both reach the Conference Finals in the West) and then with the best team in the East (Cleveland? Philadelphia? Toronto? Or Boston?). The only thing that is certain is that it will be a month and a half of great basketball. And that Italian fans will be able to fully enjoy thanks to the live streaming of the NBA playoffs. All legal with the subscription to the NBA League Pass that will allow you to watch all NBA games directly on the online platform of the U.S. basketball league. Italian fans also have another option: watching the NBA playoffs on Sky, which has acquired the television rights for the entire 2017-2018 season and will broadcast four games per week.
The dates and times of the 2018 NBA Playoffs
From the first round to the Finals, all rounds of the NBA playoffs will be played at the best of seven games. It will start with the first round on April 14 and go on to the conference semifinals (which should start between April 28 and May 1 depending on how long the first round lasts). For the conference finals, on the other hand, the date is for May 15, but even then it could start a few days earlier if the semifinals last less than expected. The appointment with the Finals will be for May 31.
Most of the competitions will be played in the Italian night: only a few competitions on Saturday and Sunday will start at dinner time, between 20:30 and 21.
How to watch the NBA playoffs live streaming with NBA League Pass
If you can not do without U.S. basketball, NBA League Pass is for you. This is the NBA’s online television subscription that allows you to watch all the games played on the night. The NBA League Pass is the best way to stream the NBA playoffs and not miss a single game. The only problem is the language: all the commentaries are in English. In addition to watching live streaming of the games, you will also be able to review them in the following days. The cost of the NBA League Pass to watch all NBA playoffs live streaming is € 54.99 and gives the opportunity to watch the Summer League, the summer friendlies. With the NBA League Pass will be possible to watch live streaming of the games both from computer and smartphone through the application.
How to watch NBA playoffs live streaming on SkyGo
Also Sky will broadcast on its channels the NBA playoffs. But it will not guarantee full NBA League Pass coverage. Four games will be broadcast each week, while the Finals will all be streamed live. In addition to SkySport channels, the NBA playoffs can also be followed in live streaming on SkyGo, Sky’s online platform. You need to log in with the credentials of your Sky account and connect to the channel that is broadcasting the race. To follow the NBA playoffs live streaming on SkyGo you must have a subscription to the Sports package.