The NBA Playoffs are set, and NBA executives must be crushed that the Cavaliers/Heat match-up did not pan out. Instead, LeBron James and the Cavaliers will play the free-falling, Gilbert Arenas-less Washington Wizards in the first round.
While the Cleveland/Washington series will be a rematch of their classic six-game battle from last year, without Gilbert Arenas the series loses a lot of its ‘oomph’.
NBA television partners agree. Despite featuring LeBron James, the Wizards/Cavaliers series will not air in prime time through the first three games on ESPN, ABC or TNT. Instead, Game 1 will air at 12:30 PM on Sunday (TNT), while Game 2 will air at 8:00 PM on Wednesday on NBA TV. Game 3 will air at 5:30 PM Saturday, April 28 (TNT).
One wonders whether it was a good decision for the NBA to dump LeBron James onto NBA TV, considering that the first four games of the Magic/Pistons series will be on ESPN or TNT. Will Dwight Howard and the underachieving Magic getting swept by Detroit really be more exciting than LeBron James and the Cavaliers dominating the Wizards?
