And then there were four... With the NHL’s conference finalists now set, and the divisional playoff brackets a thing of the past, the Eastern Conference Finals begin tonight in the City of Champions. Defending home ice will be the Atlantic Division’s 2nd seed, the Boston Bruins. After surviving a Game 7 against Toronto and defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games, the Bruins are making their first Conference Finals appearance since 2013. They’ll be without stalwart defenseman Charlie McAvoy for tonight’s game, as he’ll be serving a one game suspension due to checking Blue Jackets’ forward Josh Anderson in the head during Game 6. Former Rangers’ bookmark Steven Kampfer will draw into the lineup. The Bruins will be visited by the top Wild Card, and the Metropolitan’s 4th place team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina knocked off the defending champion Washington Capitals in the first round after seven grueling games, before surging past the Islanders in a four game sweep to qualify for their first Eastern Conference Final since 2009. Puck drop is scheduled for slightly after 8:00 PM EDT on NBCSN. Enjoy the game.<doc-sep>The Toronto Raptors could earn only their second berth in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals since joining the league as an expansion team in 1995, per Basketball Reference, if they can complete a turnaround in the seven-game series with the Philadelphia 76ers after falling behind 2-1. To do that, the Raptors need a road win — their second of the semifinal series — when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Sixers in Game 6. As for Philadelphia, they will need big man Joel Embiid to recover from the illness that hampered his play and restricted him to just 13 points in Game 5, when he takes the court for the do-or-die contest that will live stream from Philadelphia. To find out how to watch a live stream of the Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers sixth and possibly final game of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series, use the streaming information at the bottom of this article. The second-seed vs. third-seed matchup gets underway at 8 p.m. ET at the 19,500-seat Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, May 9. That start time is 7 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. PT. In the United Kingdom, tipoff time for the Raptors-Sixers semifinals series Game 6 will be 1 a.m. British Summer Time on Friday, May 10. "Like I said before, we're going to ride or die with big fella," Sixers guard Jimmy Butler told NBA.com. "Everybody around this locker room knows that, everybody in the world should know it, the fans should know it. We'll be just fine, we're going to keep doing what we're doing, encouraging him to keep battling through all injury, through all sickness and we're here with him." The 76ers will also need more output from Butler himself, after the guard took only 16 shots in the Game 5, 36-point blowout loss, per SB Nation. The Raptors have made the playoffs six years in a row now — after qualifying only five times in the previous 18 years of their existence, per BR, but in that six-year run, they are 5-4 in closeout games. Getty Images | Mitchell Leff Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors has topped 30 points in four of the five games against Philadelphia. To watch a live stream of the Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers Game 6, log in to WatchESPN, the online-streaming service offered by the sports broadcasting giant ESPN. WatchESPN is free of charge to anyone with login credentials from a cable or satellite TV service provider, and is available through the ESPN and WatchESPN apps for mobile devices, as well as on set-top streaming boxes, such as the Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire. Another way to watch the live stream of the potentially series-ending game for free — and without a cable subscription — is for fans to sign up for a free trial of an internet streaming TV package such as DirecTV Now, Sling TV, or YouTube TV. Those services require credit card information and subscription fees — but each offers a seven-day free trial. That means during the weeklong period, fans can watch the Toronto-Philly game (and other NBA Playoff games) for free. To watch the Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers series crucial Game 6 live stream in the United Kingdom, Sky Sports Arena is the go-to service. For a complete list of broadcast and likely live streaming sources in dozens of other countries around the globe, see the listings at the official NBA website.<doc-sep>Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press The Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors earned valuable days off after clinching their respective conference semifinal series in five and six games. The top-seeded Bucks await the winner of Sunday's Game 7 between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Golden State's Western Conference Finals opponent will be the victor of Game 7 between Denver and Portland, which is the first of two series-deciding games Sunday. The Warriors have three days off before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Tuesday, while the Bucks start the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday after six days off. Dates and TV Info for NBA Conference Finals Video Play Button Videos you might like Golden State Trying to Get Healthy The Warriors finished off their series with the Houston Rockets without Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins on the floor. Of course, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala are solid players in their own right, and they proved that in Friday's Game 6 victory. Between now and the first tip of the Western Conference Finals, the focus will be on Golden State's injured duo. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported Cousins is on course to return to the active roster if he maintains the progress he has made working back from a torn quad. According to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant suffered a mild right calf strain and will be re-evaluated next week. The good news for the Warriors is they will not have to rush Cousins or Durant back on to the floor if they keep playing like they did in Game 6. Easing both stars back into the lineup is the ideal strategy, and if they prove they are able to perform on the court, they could be key contributors in the NBA Finals. Brogdon Working Back to 100 Percent Milwaukee is dealing with its own injury woes with the Eastern Conference Finals on the horizon. Malcolm Brogdon has been working his way back to 100 percent, but he is not guaranteed of a starting spot when Wednesday rolls around. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters that Brogdon needs more game action to recover from a minor plantar fascia tear, per ESPN.com's Malika Andrews. "He needs more game minutes, more game action," Budenholzer said. "We plan to continue to increase Malcolm's workload and minutes. To say exactly how it's going to play out—the next step will be him playing a little bit more in Game 1." Brogdon does not have to be rushed into the starting five for Game 1 because the Bucks have received plenty of impressive performances from other role players. Nikola Mirotic, who has started in place of Brogdon, George Hill, Ersan Ilyasova and Pat Connaughton all reached double digits in the series-clinching Game 5 win over Boston. If the supporting cast behind Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to thrive, the Bucks will be in great shape to advance to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately not all the injury news is positive in Milwaukee, as Pau Gasol underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his foot Thursday, per the team's official website. Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NBA.com.<doc-sep>With both the Raptors and Sixers taking care of business in the first round in five games, the two teams are set to face in the postseason for the first time in 18 years. The Sixers and Raptors will meet in the postseason for the first time in 18 years With both the Raptors and Sixers taking care of business in the first round in five games, the Eastern Conference Semifinals are now set. NBA.com is your destination for complete coverage of every series from now through the end of the NBA Finals. Series Schedule The series schedule has not been announced yet but Toronto has homecourt advantage and the series will begin at Scotiabank Arena. Game 1 - Saturday, April 27 at Toronto, Time: TBD TV: SN Game 2 - Monday, April 29 at Toronto, Time: TBD TV: TSN Network Game 3 - Thursday, May 2 at Philadelphia, 8:00 p.m. TV: SN Game 4 - Sunday, May 5 at Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m. TV: TSN Game 5 (if necessary) - Tuesday, May 7 at Toronto, TBD TV: SN Game 6 (if necessary) - Thursday, May 9 at Philadelphia, TBD TV: TSN Game 7 (if necessary) - Sunday, May 12 at Toronto, TBD TV: SN Recapping the season series Result: Raptors won 3-1 Best game: Dec. 5, 2018 - Raptors 113, 76ers 102 Best performance: Kawhi Leonard (Dec. 5, 2018) - 36 points (13-24 FG, 5-6 3P), 9 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block Of the four times the Raptors and Sixers met in the regular season, the closest meeting was decided by 11 points in early Dec. The season series opened just two weeks into the regular season when Toronto defeated Philadelphia 129-112 behind 31 points from Kawhi Leonard. Kyle Lowry (20 points, 12 assists) and Pascal Siakam (15 points, 15 rebounds) each put forth impressive double-doubles while the Sixers were led by 31 points and 11 rebounds from Joel Embiid. While Ben Simmons flirted with a triple-double (11 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds), he committed 11 turnovers on the night. The next meeting between the teams would come over a month later, and the Sixers had added Jimmy Butler to an already-talented roster. Butler made his presence felt, scoring a game-high 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds but Kawhi Leonard was too much, as he finished with 36 points, nine rebounds, five steals and a block to lead Toronto to an 11-point win. The Raptors dominated on the inside in the second meeting as Serge Ibaka finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a reserve role; Joel Embiid scored just 10 points (on 5-for-17 shooting) and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Sixers lone win came in the third meeting of the year when the Raptors were without Kawhi Leonard. Joel Embiid (27 points), Ben Simmons (26 points) and J.J. Redick (22 points) combined to score 75 points as Philadelphia earned a convincing 126-101 win at Wells Fargo Center. The Raptors were led by 26 points from Pascal Siakam and 20 points (on 6-for-16 shooting) from a hobbled Kyle Lowry. In the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season, Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 24 points despite shooting 3-for-11 from the field as the Raptors earned a 12-point win in Philadelphia. While he had a rough shooting night, Toronto's All-Star forward converted on 16 of his 17 free throw attempts in the game to make his presence felt on the offensive end. Both Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka added 20 points apiece while Pascal Siakam finished with 16 points in the win. In a losing effort, Joel Embiid scored a game-high 37 points to go along with 13 rebounds and three blocks while Ben Simmons finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six turnovers. Key storyline: The Marc Gasol Effect https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/eb/f8/joel-embiid-marc-gasol-042319-ftr-nba-getty_9bftodh47q9m1xmnvrynf7w5u.jpg?t=1294628506&w=500 Both the Raptors and Sixers made a number of big moves during the regular season to bolster their respective rosters to better prepare for the postseason. Perhaps one of the biggest - quite literally - was Toronto's trade deadline move to acquire centre Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol's passing ability has paid dividends for the Raptors, as evidenced by their increased efficiency on the offensive end. On the defensive end, Gasol has done an excellent job on interior scorers, most recently playing a large role in limiting Magic All-Star centre Nikola Vucevic to 11.2 points (on 36.2 FG%) in the first round. It gets no easier this series, as Gasol will now be tasked with slowing down the Sixers All-NBA centre Joel Embiid, who averaged 24.8 points and 13.5 rebounds in their first-round series win over the Nets despite the fact he wasn't 100%. While Gasol was not yet a member of the Raptors roster for any of their four meetings with the Sixers this season, he has an impressive track record against Embiid in his career. The two have met five times and Gasol has had a hand in holding Embiid to averages of 14.0 points (on 34.4 FG%), 12.4 rebounds to go along with 4.4 turnovers per game. The Gasol-led Grizzlies were 3-2 against Embiid and the Sixers. In four games against the Raptors this season, Embiid averaged 26.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. His performance on the offensive end - and Gasol's ability to slow him down - could very well be what swings this series. Three Players to Watch Kawhi Leonard vs. Philadelphia in 2018-19 (three games): 30.3 points (48.1 FG%, 50.0 3P%, 90.9 FT%), 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 2.7 assists Leonard made his presence felt in the three games in which he took the floor against Philadelphia this season. Starting with a 31-point performance early on in the year, Kawhi was the Raptors leading scorer each time they defeated the Sixers.<doc-sep>
The Milwaukee Bucks proved through the first two rounds of the 2019 NBA Playoffs that they were more than deserving of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. After sweeping the No. 8 seed Detroit Pistons, the Bucks dropped Game 1 against the Boston Celtics and proceeded to reel off four-straight wins. In turn, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee are heading to their first Eastern Conference Finals since the 2000-01 season. That year marked the last time they won 50-plus games as well, and the Bucks advance to the next round after posting a 60-22 regular-season record. Next up for The Greek Freak and company is the winner of the Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers, who are the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the East. We’re going to take a look at the Eastern Conference Finals schedule for the Bucks while also offering a prediction on the next round, regardless of who they face. Milwaukee Bucks NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals Schedule The schedule has been fully updated now, courtesy of Sports Media Watch, and will be modified if any changes or tweaks are made. Wednesday, May 15 Raptors vs. Bucks Game 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Friday, May 17 Raptors vs. Bucks Game 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Sunday, May 19 Bucks vs. Raptors Game 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Tuesday, May 21 Bucks vs. Raptors Game 4 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Thursday, May 23 Raptors vs. Bucks Game 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Saturday, May 25 Bucks vs. Raptors Game 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Monday, May 27 Raptors vs. Bucks Game 7 at 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Follow the Heavy NBA Facebook page for all the latest stories, rumors and viral content! Once both semifinals matchups are wrapped up, the winner from both sides will meet in the NBA Finals, which will begin Thursday, May 30 on ABC. Milwaukee Bucks Eastern Conference Finals Prediction The million dollar question becomes whether either the Raptors or Sixers can knock off the top seed in the East, who’ll hold a homecourt advantage in the series. The Bucks posted the second-best home record in the NBA this season at 33-8, although the Raptors (32-9) and Sixers (31-10) weren’t far behind. Regardless, Milwaukee had the edge over both potential opponents this year, defeating Toronto three of four times during the regular season and Philadelphia on two of three occasions. With the level that the Bucks are currently playing at, and how dominant they’ve been in the postseason, betting against them at this point would be a tall task. Not only do I think this team advances out of the Eastern Conference, but this is beginning to look like Milwaukee’s year to win the title. Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks win in six games, advance to NBA Finals READ NEXT: NBA Finals Schedule 2019: Dates, Times & Championship Predictions