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Get ready, basketball fans! The 2024 NBA Playoffs are here, and we can’t wait to see all our favorite teams compete for the championship title. With some of the league’s top players and the biggest rivalries heating up, this year’s playoffs are sure to be packed with heart-stopping moments, buzzer-beating shots, and epic dunks.
And with Sling TV, you don’t have to miss any of the excitement. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about streaming the NBA Playoffs live.
In a hurry? To watch TNT, ESPN, ESPN3 (which will simulcast the ABC games), and NBA TV, you’ll want Sling Orange with its Sports Extra add-on – just $40.00/mo + $11/mo. Big savings over any other service with ESPN and NBA TV!
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Can Jayson Tatum lead the Celtics to a dominant victory, or will the defending champs the Nuggets take the trophy again instead? Will Kawhi Leonard be fighting fit to take the Lakers against the Mavericks‘ Luka Dončić? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to watch.
If you want to watch the 2024 NBA Playoffs without running up a huge cable bill, you should sign up for Sling TV. It’s the cheapest way to stream ESPN and the other channels needed to watch the entire NBA postseason online. More details are available below, but first, let’s take a closer look at the playoffs themselves.
Overview of the NBA Playoffs
The NBA postseason usually runs from April through June. The top sixteen teams from the NBA regular season standings compete – eight from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. The format is four rounds of best-of-seven.
Qualification and Play-In
After the regular season, the top six teams by win percentage in each Conference automatically clinch a slot in the NBA Playoff bracket. Seeds 7-10 battle it out in a three-day, six-game NBA Play-In Tournament for the no. 7 and 8 seed positions. The Play-In Tournament takes place immediately before the Playoffs start (in 2024, the first matches are on Tuesday, April 16).
Which Teams Are in the 2024 NBA Play-in Tournament?
Following the 2023-24 NBA season, the four Play-In teams for the Eastern Conference were the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks. For the Western Conference, it came down to the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and Golden State Warriors competing for a Playoff spot.
First Round
Sixteen teams enter the first round, only eight of which will advance – four from each Conference. The matchups are made by seed: the No. 1 seed will play the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed will play the No. 7 seed, and so on. This is where the biggest upsets often happen, right at the beginning.
Conference Semifinals
The eight winning teams from the first round now compete for spots in the Conference Finals. The remaining teams are reseeded according to their regular season records and, like before, the highest remaining seed and the lowest remaining seed will face off, as will the second-highest and second-lowest, and so forth.
Because the teams are more evenly matched, this round is typically where the close, ultra-competitive, nail-biter games begin.
Conference Finals
Two final games determine the Eastern and Western Conference Champions – the two teams that will then head to the NBA Finals. Expect rivalries to be riled and emotions to run high – this is make-it-or-break-it time!
NBA Finals
Finally, the two Conference champs come together to crown a league champion. Expect some seriously awesome b-ball played in a pressure cooker.
Watch the 2024 NBA Playoffs on Sling TV
Due to the complicated nature of sports broadcasting agreements, the NBA Playoffs air on a combination of ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV. Until the Play-In Tournament finishes, a detailed playoff schedule with times and channels is often hard to find.
Other streaming services charge upwards of $73 per month for these channels, particularly NBA TV, which is often found in add-ons or higher-priced tiers (if it’s available at all).
But Sling TV‘s Sling Orange package offers TNT, ESPN, and ESPN3 (which simulcasts live matches that air on ABC) for just $40.00/mo. And NBA TV is just $11/mo extra with its Sports Extra add-on – at least $20/mo cheaper than others. Sling TV is also the cheapest service that offers ESPN.
Sling can be streamed on almost every device available, including Amazon Fire TV and sticks, Apple TV, Roku, Android and iOS mobile devices, Xbox gaming system, and more. Plus, all Sling TV plans come with 50 hours of free cloud DVR storage.
So sign up for Sling Orange + Sports Extra today and be all set for the playoffs – you can even get 50% off your first month!
NBA Playoffs 2024 Schedule
Because each matchup is played best out of seven, only the first four games are guaranteed to be played. So while all seven games of each series of the First Round have been assigned a tentative date and venue, times and channels are TBD.
The NBA website speculates on dates of future rounds, including all seven potential Finals games, but these can change depending on how many games are necessary for earlier rounds.
First Round
All playoff series use the 2-2-1-1-1 format, meaning the higher seed gets home-court advantage on the first two games, then the weaker seed on the second two, and then, if necessary, they alternate 5, 6, and 7. All games 5-7 are played on an as-needed basis.
Saturday, April 20 – Game 1
- : Orlando Magic (83) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (97) (ESPN)
- : Phoenix Suns (95) @ Minnesota Timberwolves (120) (ESPN)
- : Philadelphia 76ers (104) @ New York Knicks (111) (ESPN)
- : Los Angeles Lakers (103) @ Denver Nuggets (114) (ABC)
Sunday, April 21 – Game 1
- : Boston Heat @ Boston Celtics (ABC)
- : Dallas Mavericks @ LA Clippers (ABC)
- : Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks (TNT)
- : New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TNT)
Monday, April 22 – Game 2
- : Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA TV)
- : Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks (TNT)
- : Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (TNT)
Tuesday, April 23 – Game 2
- : Phoenix Suns @ Minnesota Timberwolves (TNT)
- : Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks (NBA TV)
- : Dallas Mavericks @ LA Clippers (TNT)
Wednesday, April 24 – Game 2
- : Boston Heat @ Boston Celtics (TNT)
- : New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TNT)
Thursday, April 25 – Game 3
- : Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (NBA TV)
- : New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers (TNT)
- : Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT)
Friday, April 26 – Game 3
- : Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers (ESPN)
- : LA Clippers @ Dallas Mavericks (ESPN)
- : Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns (ESPN)
Saturday, April 27 – Game 3/4
- : Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)
- : Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans (TNT)
- : Boston Celtics @ Boston Heat (TNT)
- : Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)
Sunday, April 28 – Game 4
- : New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers (ABC)
- : LA Clippers @ Dallas Mavericks (ABC)
- : Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers (TNT)
- : Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns (TNT)
Monday, April 29 – Game 4/5 (if necessary)
- TBD: Boston Celtics @ Boston Heat (TBD)
- TBD: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (TBD) (if necessary)
- TBD: Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans (TBD)
Tuesday, April 30 – Game 5 (if necessary)
- TBD: Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks (TBD)
- TBD: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TBD)
- TBD: Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks (TBD)
- TBD: Phoenix Suns @ Minnesota Timberwolves (TBD)
Wednesday, May 1 – Game 5 (if necessary)
- TBD: Boston Heat @ Boston Celtics (TBD)
- TBD: Dallas Mavericks @ LA Clippers (TBD)
- TBD: New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TBD)
Thursday, May 2 – Game 6 (if necessary)
- TBD: Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers (TBD)
- TBD: New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers (TBD)
- TBD: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers (TBD)
- TBD: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns (TBD)
Friday, May 3 – Game 6 (if necessary)
- TBD: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TBD)
- TBD: Boston Celtics @ Boston Heat (TBD)
- TBD: LA Clippers @ Dallas Mavericks (TBD)
- TBD: Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans (TBD)
Saturday, May 4 – Game 7 (if necessary)
- TBD: Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks (TBD)
- TBD: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (TBD)
- TBD: Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks (TBD)
- TBD: Phoenix Suns @ Minnesota Timberwolves (TBD)
Sunday, May 5 – Game 7 (if necessary)
- TBD: Boston Heat @ Boston Celtics (TBD)
- TBD: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TBD)
- TBD: Dallas Mavericks @ LA Clippers (TBD)
- TBD: New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TBD)
Conference Semifinals
Because not all games may be needed, May 5th may be used for any final first round matches or mark the beginning of second round matches.
Sunday, May 5
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Thursday, May 9
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Friday, May 10
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Saturday, May 11
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Sunday, May 12
- : NBA Draft Lottery (ABC)
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Thursday, May 16
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Friday, May 17
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Sunday, May 19
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Conference Finals
Tuesday, May 21 – Eastern (Game 1 or 2)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Thursday, May 23 – Eastern (Game 2)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Saturday, May 25 – Eastern (Game 3)
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Monday, May 27 – Eastern (Game 4)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Wednesday, May 29 – Eastern (Game 5)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Friday, May 31 – Eastern (Game 6)
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
Sunday, June 2 – Eastern (Game 7)*
- : TBD @ TBD (ESPN)
NBA Finals
Thursday, June 6 – Game 1
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Sunday, June 9 – Game 2
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Wednesday, June 12 – Game 3
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Friday, June 14 – Game 4
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Monday, June 17 – Game 5*
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Thursday, June 20 – Game 6*
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
Sunday, June 23 – Game 7*
- : TBD @ TBD (ABC)
* If needed
When Do the 2024 NBA Finals Start?
There are anywhere from 32 to 56 separate games played (between four and seven games per series, with eight series across the sixteen teams) in the First Round. Because of this, the later rounds have tentative dates, with the option to move them earlier if the First Round victors dominate their opponents early.
- May 4-7: NBA Conference Semifinals begin
- May 19-22: NBA Conference Finals begin
- June 6: Finals Game 1
- June 9: Finals Game 2
- June 12: Finals Game 3
- June 14: Finals Game 4
- June 17: Finals Game 5
- June 20: Finals Game 6
- June 23: Finals Game 7
Wrapping Up
Sling TV is the way to go for cost-effective NBA Playoff streaming. Sign up for Sling Orange to watch every game online and get ready to cheer for your favorite team!
FAQ
When do NBA Playoffs start in 2024?
The first round of the NBA Playoffs starts on Saturday, April 20 in 2024, with four games. This follows the Play-In Tournament matches that conclude on Friday, April 19 after beginning on Tuesday, April 16. The complete playoff picture of all sixteen teams won’t be revealed until after that final match on April 19.
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Updated Round 1 games schedule – GB
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Updated for 2024 Playoffs – GB
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