What NBA Playoff games are on today, Monday, May 16, 2022?
The stage is finally set for the NBA Conference finals. The Celtics and the Heat will fight it out in the East; the Mavericks and the Warriors, in the West.
The semifinal round series of the NBA Playoffs saw some teams pushing it to the limit by forcing Game 7. After an intense drawn-out contest, the players will be taking a day off to prepare for the NBA Conference Finals.
The Boston Celtics defeated the exhausted Bucks in Game 7 and advanced to the Eastern Conference final round. They took full advantage of the absence of the defending champions’ number two offensive player Khris Middleton who had been out of the semifinal series due to a knee injury.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks surprised themselves with an easy 123-90 Game 7 victory over the top-seeded Phoenix Suns. The Suns appeared to not put up even a semblance of a fight, while Luka Doncic and the Mavs all played as if their life depended on it.
There are no playoff games to start the workweek, but the good news is the Conference final round will begin tomorrow. Here’s what we can expect.
NBA Playoff game, Tuesday, May 17
- Game 1: Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat (0-0)
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT
- Location: FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat start off the Eastern Conference finals in South Beach. The series between the top two East seeds is a replay of the third-round playoff series in 2020, where Miami emerged the victor after six games.
The Celtics will be determined to try to get to their first appearance in the NBA finals since 2010 and are looking set to play with a full lineup with the return of Robert Williams.
The Heat, on the other hand, may be missing point guard Kyle Lowry, who missed semifinal games because of a hamstring injury.