NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals Schedule

Written May 19, 2009 by Steve Janus

2009-nba-conference-finals-schedule-051909 The NBA’s Conference Finals are all set with the LA Lakers facing the Denver Nuggets and the Cleveland Cavs squaring off against the Orlando Magic. Let’s take a look at the upcoming schedule for the remaining games in each conference.

The LA Lakers had their ups and downs against the Houston Rockets, but eventually came away with the series victory looking stronger than ever. The Lakers, having earned home court advantage throughout their Western Conference Playoff games, will host the Denver Nuggets. The first two games of the series will be played in LA, starting on Tuesday, May 19th, with the second game of the series scheduled for Thursday, May 21st. The Lakers have been one of the toughest teams to beat in the NBA this season on their home court, and this series should be no different. Expect the Lakers to be favored heavily in the first two games of the series. From there the series heads to Denver, where the Nuggets were 33-8 during the regular season. The first game in Denver is scheduled for Saturday, May 23rd, with the second game slated for the following Monday, May 25th. If the Nuggets are going to make a serious run at the Finals, they must win their games on their home court. Game 5 of the series (if necessary) will have the Lakers and Nuggets headed back to Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 27th. If neither team has won the 4 games needed to advance to the NBA Finals at that point, the series then heads back to Denver on Friday, May 29th. If a Game 7 in needed, the Nuggets will need to beat the Lakers in Los Angeles to advance to the Championship round. This should be a great series to watch. I would not be surprised to see it go the distance, but the Lakers are the favorite here, especially with that home court advantage.

Over in the Eastern Conference the Cleveland Cavaliers will host their first pair of games against the Orlando Magic. Cleveland earned home court advantage throughout the playoffs by having the best overall record in the NBA this year at 66-16. The Cavs have been nearly unbeatable at home, earning a 39-2 record their in the regular season. The only team to beat them on their home court with their starters playing during the regular season was the Lakers. Cleveland has yet to lose a playoff games so far this season, sweeping both the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks with 8 straight victories. The Cavs are favored coming into this series, but don’t expect it to be as easy as their first two as the Magic were one of the best road teams in the NBA this year at 27-14, and a tough team to beat at home with a 32-9 record in Orlando during the regular season. Game 1 and Game 2 are at Cleveland with opening game of the series being played on Wednesday, May 20th, and Game 2 scheduled for Friday, May 22nd. From there the Cavs and Magic head down to Orlando for a 2 games, which will be played on Sunday, May 24th, and Tuesday, May 26th. As long as neither team has suffered four losses at this point in the series, we head back to Cleveland on Thursday, May 28th, then, if needed, to Orlando on Saturday, May 30th for Game 6. If a 7th game is needed, the Magic and Cavs will have to settle the Eastern Conference Championship back in Cleveland on Monday, June 1st. It’s hard to see the Cavs losing considering how dominant they’ve been in the playoffs so far, but don’t sleep on this Orlando team, which has been out-performing their expectations for most of the year.

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