The television schedule for the 2011 NBA Playoffs looks to be unchanged from previous years.
The 2011 NBA Playoffs will begin with a now-customary quadruple-header across ESPN/ABC, according to ESPN’s upcoming television schedule.
ABC is scheduled to tip-off the postseason with a 3 PM ET game on Saturday, April 16, followed by a tripleheader on ESPN at 5:30 PM, 8 PM and 10:30 PM. The following day, ABC will air another 3 PM ET game, presumably followed by a similar tripleheader on TNT.
This is the same schedule arrangement the NBA has had for the opening weekend of the playoffs since the 2004-05 season.
The second week of the postseason includes three games on Friday, April 22 (8 and 10 PM ET on ESPN, 10 PM on ESPN2), a Saturday, April 23 doubleheader on ESPN (8 and 10:30 PM ET), and a Sunday, April 24 doubleheader on ABC (1 and 3:30 PM ET).
Further down the line, the ESPN family of networks will air three more games on Friday, April 29. ESPN is scheduled to carry a doubleheader at 8 PM and 10:30 PM, while ESPN2 airs a game at 10:30 PM. The ESPN2 game will follow coverage of night two of the 2011 NFL Draft (8-10:30 PM).
As mentioned above, this is essentially the same playoff television schedule the NBA has had for several seasons.
In other playoff scheduling news, an ESPN spokesman recently confirmed to Sports Media Watch that ESPN is scheduled to carry the entire NBA Western Conference Finals, though ABC could potentially air Game 1 if the second round ends early.
This is the second straight year ESPN has been scheduled to carry an entire Conference Final (last year, Game 1 of the East Finals was moved up two days and aired on ABC after none of the Eastern Conference semifinal series went to a seventh game).
