NBA Playoffs 2023: Dates, TV schedule, and more

The 2022-23 regular season concluded on Sunday, April 9. The Western Conference 2023 NBA playoffs bracket got locked on the final day. Defending champions the Golden State Warriors avoided falling into the play-in bracket.

The Warriors finished as the sixth seed after beating the shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers 157-101 on the road, while the LA Clippers secured a 119-114 win over their first-round opponents Phoenix Suns and clinched the fifth seed.

Meanwhile, the LA Lakers ended the year with the seventh-best record. Despite starting 2-10, the Lakers finished with a 43-39 record after beating the Utah Jazz 128-117 at home, and they will play the Minnesota Timberwolves at home for the seventh seed in the play-in tournament.

The Timberwolves recorded a comeback 113-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at home, who dropped to ninth after nearly clinching the sixth seed.

When do the 2023 NBA Playoffs begin?

The 2023 NBA Playoffs will begin on Saturday, April 15, 2022. Three Eastern Conference and one Western Conference first-round series will be televised nationally.

Here's the list of games, their national TV schedule and their start time:

• No. 6 Brooklyn Nets vs. No.3 Philadelphia 76ers on ESPN at 1:00 PM ET
• No. 7 Miami Heat/Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics on ESPN at 3:30 PM ET
• No. 5 New York Knicks vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers on ESPN at 6:00 PM ET
• No. 6 Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings on ABC at 8:30 PM ET

The rest of the TV schedule for these games and others hasn't been listed yet. Apart from ESPN and ABC, some of the 2023 NBA playoffs games will be televised on TNT and NBA TV in round one. NBA TV won't televise games after that, while the other three networks will continue televising them until the conference finals. The NBA Finals will be televised only on ABC.

The playoffs will end on June 7th if the finals are decided in four games. If the series stretches to more games, Game 5 will be on the 12th, Game 6 on the 15th and Game 7 on June 18th. The finals will start on June 1st.

Looking at the most anticipated first-round series in the 2023 NBA Playoffs

The 2023 NBA Playoffs seem highly unpredictable from the first round itself. The New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers series could go down to the wire in the Eastern Conference. The 47-35 Knicks finished four games behind the 51-31 Cavs in the standings. Both teams are young and don't have much experience in the playoffs, which makes their matchups even more exciting to follow.

Another series that could be close is the Boston Celtics potentially facing their opponents from last season's Conference Finals opponents, the Miami Heat, in round one. The Heat stretched that series to seven games, so the Celtics could have some headaches if the Heat clinch the play-in tournament and make it to the playoffs as the seventh seed.

The 2023 NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference could be even more exciting. Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant will face off in a high-voltage first-round series between West favorites LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns. Both teams could've made the Conference Finals if the standings looked any different, but only one will advance.

A couple more exciting first-round series could be on the cards if the LA Lakers clinch the seventh or eighth seed in the play-in tournament and face either of the top two teams in the West, the Denver Nuggets or Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron James and company have gone on an 18-9 run since the trade deadline and could cause an upset against the top seeds.