The NBA playoffs schedule in 2014 has the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards through to the second round after they advanced against the Bobcats and the Chicago Bulls and now they are awaiting their opponents as the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors play out the first round in the eastern conference finals.
The Miami Heat were the only team to sweep in the first round and they took it to the Bobcats and now they are waiting for the winner of the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors series. The Heat ended up not getting home court advantage in the east and the Pacers got it instead and now they are in position to lose the series and that would give the Hawks one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. Miami did a good job at getting the sweep, as LeBron James and company understand what it takes to win a championship.
After winning three straight east titles and two straight championships, Miami understands that they need rest and now they will go for the entire time that LeBron is in Miami without losing to the Bobcats. The team never lost to them in the regular season and now the franchise will go away without any playoff wins, as they will be turning to the Hornets next year and now Miami is in a position to get healthy and ready for the second round. The Nets are in a tough position, as they are an older team and the longer the series goes the more fatigued they will be if they can get past the Raptors.
The Heat really should play the Hawks if they win the series, but since the NBA doesn't re-seed, they will be playing against either the Raptors or the Nets. James and Chris Bosh along with Dwyane Wade played well in the opening series, but matching up against the Bobcats is not the best measurement of how the team is playing.
The Wizards won their first playoff series in years and they did in dominating fashion over the Chicago Bulls and now they could be one of the surprise teams in the east if the Hawks win. That matchup will be very interesting no matter how it plays out and they had a great game from John Wall and he had 24 points to lead the way and now Wall and Bradley Beal are showing how talented the Wizards can be.
The schedule has games on Wednesday with the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs matching up, while the Nets and Raptors will be playing at 7:30 on NBATV. The Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets also have a game and that will be starting up at 9:30 pm ET and will be on TNT.
Check here for the NBA playoff schedule and standings for the second round.
