With Boston looking to end a 50-year franchise drought, Jalen Brunson’s health questionable for the Knicks and Luka Dončić making his Lakers playoff debut, here are the biggest storylines to watch entering the 2025 NBA playoffs.
Playoff basketball is finally here.
Following an 82-game regular season and the play-in tournament, the 2025 NBA playoffs will get underway Saturday with four first-round matchups — two in the East and two out West.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are

The playoff opener features a rematch from the 2024 first round as the No. 4 Indiana Pacers host the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks. Last year, the then-No. 6 Pacers upset then-No. 3 Milwaukee in six games en route to the conference finals, but the Bucks didn’t have two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo available for the entire series and were without Damian Lillard for two games, as well. And Lillard will be sidelined for at least Game 1 of this year's series after dealing with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his calf.
The playoff action will then move out West as the red-hot No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers take on three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the No. 4 Denver Nuggets. The Clippers enter the postseason on run of 19 wins in 25 games, meeting a Nuggets team that fired the franchise's only championship-winning head coach just before the end of the regular season.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.

The third game of the day will see a storied franchise make its return to the playoffs as the No. 6 Detroit Pistons battle the No. 3 New York Knicks. The Pistons snapped a five-year playoff drought after improving their record by 30 victories, recording the franchise’s first winning season since 2015-16. While Cade Cunningham and Co. are series underdogs, they did take three of four from the Knicks in the regular season.
Saturday's slate concludes with a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Finals -- well, sort of. The Minnesota Timberwolves were denied their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals last year by the Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks. Now, Anthony Edwards and the No. 6 Wolves begin this postseason against Doncic, LeBron James and the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers.
Today's NBA playoff schedule: Where to watch and stream the games
Here's a full look at Saturday's schedule, including where to watch and stream the games:
- No. 5 Bucks at No. 4 Pacers -- 1 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN.com, ESPN app
- No. 5 Clippers at No. 4 Nuggets -- 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN.com, ESPN app
- No. 6 Pistons at No. 3 Knicks -- 6 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN.com, ESPN app
- No. 6 Timberwolves at No. 3 Lakers -- 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN.com, ESPN app
What's tomorrow's NBA playoff schedule?
The four other first-round series tip off Sunday:
- No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder -- 1 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN.com, ESPN app
- No. 7 Orlando Magic at No. 2 Boston Celtics -- 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN.com, ESPN app
- No. 8 Miami Heat at No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers -- 7 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV, TNTDrama.com, TNT app, Max
- No. 7 Golden State Warriors at No. 2 Houston Rockets -- 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV, TNTDrama.com, TNT app, Max
