The NBA playoffs TV schedule picks up on Friday and starts up with Game 3 on the main ESPN2 channel at 7 pm for tip off for the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors, while the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards matchup at 8 pm ET on ESPN, while the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers will play their Game 3 and the series is 2-0 as it moves to the Moda Center, while the Nets are 1-1 at the Barclays Center.
The Nets and the Raptors are the first game of the night on the schedule and it comes after Toronto was able to win Game 2 at home and that evened up the series at 1-1 and now Brooklyn will try to win its first home game in the playoffs this season. The Nets are a much older team than the Raptors and that could be a factor now that the series is tied, but if Brooklyn wins on Friday night they have a good chance at shortening the series and if they advance, it could be very helpful for when they play the Miami Heat in the next round if that plays out.
The first game between the Nets and the Raptors was close for most of it and then Brooklyn was able to pull away to get the win and that came after some clutch play from Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett down the stretch. Jason Kidd has learned exactly how to get the most out of his players, as he uses his reserves more during the early parts of games and that keeps his vets like Garnett and Pierce fresh and when any game is close in the fourth quarter in the playoffs, the Nets have the advantage.
The first game saw the team shut down Kyle Lowry for the most part despite his leading with 22 points for the raptors, while DeMar DeRozan was basically a non-factor in that matchup. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 24 points each in that game and then in Game 2 DeRozan had a breakout performance with 30 points and that countered what Johnson did and it tied up the series. The Nets are a much better home team than on the road and they will be looking to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Blazers and the Rockets series has been one of the best in the playoffs and they now head into Portland with the Trail Blazers up 2-0 after winning both games in Houston. Dwight Howard and James Harden will have to play better as a team and the defense needs to be much sharper for a chance to comeback in the series. The Bulls are also down 2-0 after losing both games at home and that came after the overtime loss against Washington that saw Kirk Hinrich miss his free throws at the end that would have tied the game.
The games continue on Saturday and has four on the schedule, including the Hawks and Pacers, Mavs and Spurs, Heat and Bobcats and the Thunder against the Grizzlies.
