The National Basketball Association (NBA) is in its 77th season in 2022–23 (NBA). For the first time since the 2018–19 NBA season, the NBA returned to a full 82-game regular season in its customary mid-October to mid-April schedule after the previous two seasons were cut short in some way due to COVID-19. For entertainment, you can watch NBA All-Star Games or NBA Week.
The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held annually following the National Basketball Association (NBA) season to select the league’s champion.
In this article, I will share complete information about NBA Playoffs, their schedule and format, how it works, how you can watch NBA playoffs, the calendar, and much more… So let’s head to the article without wasting more time.
Table of Contents
How to Watch NBA Playoffs 2023 Online Outside USA (Get Over Blackouts)
If you are currently outside USA or facing NBA Blackouts, here is the step-by-step solution for you:
- Subscribe to ExpressVPN.
- Install it on your device.
- Launch the VPN and set your location to the USA (if you are outside the US). If you are facing blackouts, set your location to the region that is not currently blocked.
- Sign in to NBL League Pass, Sling TV, fuboTV, Hulu+LiveTV, DirecTV Stream or YoutubeTV.
- Search for ESPN or ABC.
- Enjoy the live games.
Streaming Services to Subscribe to for NBA
How to Watch NBA Playoffs 2023 in other Countries
NBA Playoffs Format
The last two seasons were disturbed by the regular season format of NBA. Due to COVID-19, the NBA season was cut short. However, now the NBA is back to the regular format. It will follow the format of the games that were followed in the 2018-2019 season.
Following of some of the important points of the NBA 2021-22 season format:
- The eight clubs with the most wins in each conference advance to the playoffs. Each team’s overall record determines the seedings.
- There is no reseeding in each conference’s bracket. Each round is a best-of-seven series, with the side with the most victories progressing to the next round.
- All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2–2–1–1–1 format.
- In any round, the higher-seeded team does not always get home-court advantage; instead, the team with the better regular season record does.
- Standard tiebreaker criteria are used if two teams with the same record meet in a round.
- The winning percentage, head-to-head record, and intra-conference record are used to determine home-court advantage in the NBA Finals.
NBA Playoffs Leaderboard January 11, 2023
Eastern Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | |
| Boston Celtics | 29 | 12 | 0.707 | – |
| Brooklyn Nets | 27 | 13 | 0.675 | 1.5 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 26 | 14 | 0.65 | 2.5 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 25 | 15 | 0.625 | 3.5 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 26 | 16 | 0.619 | 3.5 |
| Indiana Pacers | 23 | 18 | 0.561 | 6 |
| New York Knicks | 22 | 19 | 0.537 | 7 |
| Miami Heat | 22 | 20 | 0.524 | 7.5 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 19 | 21 | 0.475 | 9.5 |
| Chicago Bulls | 19 | 22 | 0.463 | 10 |
| Toronto Raptors | 18 | 23 | 0.439 | 11 |
| Washington Wizards | 17 | 24 | 0.415 | 12 |
| Orlando Magic | 16 | 26 | 0.381 | 13.5 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 11 | 31 | 0.262 | 18.5 |
| Detroit Pistons | 11 | 33 | 0.25 | 19.5 |
Western Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | |
| Denver Nuggets | 27 | 13 | 0.675 | – |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 27 | 13 | 0.675 | – |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 25 | 16 | 0.61 | 2.5 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 23 | 19 | 0.548 | 5 |
| Sacramento Kings | 21 | 18 | 0.538 | 5.5 |
| LA Clippers | 22 | 21 | 0.512 | 6.5 |
| Phoenix Suns | 21 | 21 | 0.5 | 7 |
| Golden State Warriors | 20 | 21 | 0.488 | 7.5 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 20 | 21 | 0.488 | 7.5 |
| Utah Jazz | 21 | 23 | 0.477 | 8 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 19 | 21 | 0.475 | 8 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 19 | 22 | 0.463 | 8.5 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 18 | 23 | 0.439 | 9.5 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 13 | 28 | 0.317 | 14.5 |
| Houston Rockets | 10 | 30 | 0.25 | 17 |
List of NBA Playoffs Season Arenas
List of NBA Playoffs Season 2022-23 Arenas
| Team | Arena | Seats | Year | Owner |
| Atlanta Hawks | State Farm Arena | 16,600 | 1999 | Public |
| Boston Celtics | TD Garden | 18,624 | 1995 | Private |
| Brooklyn Nets | Barclays Center | 17,732 | 2012 | Public |
| Charlotte Hornets | Spectrum Center | 19,077 | 2005 | Public |
| Chicago Bulls | United Center | 20,917 | 1994 | Private |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 19,432 | 1994 | Public |
| Dallas Mavericks | American Airlines Center | 19,200 | 2001 | Public |
| Denver Nuggets | Ball Arena | 19,520 | 1999 | Private |
| Detroit Pistons | Little Caesars Arena | 20,332 | 2017 | Public |
| Golden State Warriors | Chase Center | 18,064 | 2019 | Private |
| Houston Rockets | Toyota Center | 18,055 | 2003 | Public |
| Indiana Pacers | Bankers Life Fieldhouse | 17,923 | 1999 | Public |
| Los Angeles Clippers | Staples Center | 19,060 | 1999 | Private |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Staples Center | 19,060 | 1999 | Private |
| Memphis Grizzlies | FedExForum | 18,119 | 2004 | Public |
| Miami Heat | FTX Arena | 19,600 | 1999 | Public |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Fiserv Forum | 17,341 | 2018 | Public |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Target Center | 18,798 | 1990 | Public |
| New Orleans Pelicans | Smoothie King Center | 16,867 | 1999 | Public |
| New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden | 19,812 | 1968 | Private |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Paycom Center | 18,203 | 2002 | Public |
| Orlando Magic | Amway Center | 18,846 | 2010 | Public |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Wells Fargo Center | 20,478 | 1996 | Private |
| Phoenix Suns | Footprint Center | 18,422 | 1992 | Public |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Moda Center | 19,393 | 1995 | Private |
| Sacramento Kings | Golden 1 Center | 17,608 | 2016 | Public |
| San Antonio Spurs | AT&T Center | 18,418 | 2002 | Public |
| Toronto Raptors | Scotiabank Arena | 19,800 | 1999 | Private |
| Utah Jazz | Vivint Arena | 18,306 | 1991 | Private |
| Washington Wizards | Capital One Arena | 20,356 | 1997 | Private |
How to Watch NBA Playoffs Season on TV
Many TV Channels and Online streaming services enable you to watch NBA Playoff seasons.
TV Channels for NBA Playoffs
Following are the official broadcasters of NBA season 2021-22. You can get any medium to watch NBA on TV.
NBA on ESPN
ESPN is one of the official broadcasters of the NBA season. You can catch any game on ESPN after they have been live telecasted on NBA Game Pass.
Features
• Available on most U.S Cable Systems
• Available on Satellite
DirecTV Channel 206, Channel 209-1 (alternate TV), Channel 1206 (VOD)
• Available Dish Network
Channel 140, Channels 144, 145, 146, 147 (alternate feeds)
• Available on IPTV
U-verse TV: Channel 602, Channel 1602
Verizon Fios: Channel 70, Channel 570
• Available on Google Fiber: Channel 21
• Available in Google Fiber Xfinity: Channel 27, Channel 403
NBA on American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
Besides ESPN, ABC will also be broadcasting NBA games.
Saturday Primetime
La Quinta is the title sponsor of the NBA Saturday Primetime. It’s primarily a showcase of the top Saturday night NBA games produced by ESPN but broadcast on ABC. The program first aired on January 23rd, 2016 as an eight-game slate to keep viewers up to date on the finest of the 2015-2016 season.
Sunday Showcase
The show, said to air every Sunday night, is sponsored by State Farm and BBVA. It is mostly a detailed coverage of all ESPN-produced NBA games shown on ABC on Sunday afternoons.
Both shows feature some of the most exciting basketball action in the league, which is why millions of people tune in each week. The time period may conflict with a couple of your weekend plans, particularly if going out with your first love is your top priority. But don’t let that stop you from watching the NBA when you can watch it live online.
ABC App
The official ABC app allows you to watch the ‘NBA on ABC live for free and all of ABC’s other shows. The only stipulation is that you must be a network subscriber.
It’s worthless to download the app to your iOS or Android device if you don’t subscribe to the network via your local, often unfriendly cable service. You might, however, try to obtain credentials from your parents; after all, everything is fair in love, and NBA live streaming!
ABC on PlayStation
The PlayStation VUE is similar to Sling TV, but if you want to watch ABC, you’ll have to spend $45 per month instead of $20. However, you have access to dozens of additional channels, many of which are unavailable through Sling TV.
The PlayStation VUE’s appeal is that you can stream directly to your PlayStation 4, allowing you to choose between playing NBA and watching NBA Saturday Primetime or NBA Sunday Showcase live.
Other Ways to Stream NBA Playoffs 2023
There are no other free ways to watch the shows we are aware of. If you’re a basketball lover, don’t turn to piracy, which is the same as stealing, and we all know what stealing can lead to, such as prison time, fines, and your girlfriend marrying your ugly best buddy.
Watch NBA Playoffs on Online Streaming Services
Following are the online streaming services you can have to watch NBA games on your smart gadgets, mobile, laptop etc
NBA Playoffs Live Stream Free Online
There is no official way to live stream the NBA games for free. However, you can go for the free trials of any of the streaming services mentioned above to stream the game for free. They mostly offer 7-day free streaming services. If you are outside the US, you can avail yourself of a free trial period of Express VPN. So for at least seven days, NBA streaming will be free.
The second way to stream free NBA games is on social media platforms. Like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, many black hat ways get to live just an hour before the start of the match.
How to NBA Playoff Live Stream Reddit
The online streaming platforms are inconsistent as they get banned from the internet on copyright strikes. So, illegal online streamers come up by changing their domain names. You can get the name by searching the query on Reddit. There will be a list of channels streaming live the NBA games for the day or the week. If they get banned, the streamers will come up with new domains mentioned on their Reddit accounts.
What is NBA play-in, and how it works?
It’s a brand-new mini-tournament with four teams competing in each conference. The teams that will compete in the play-in round are those that finished seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth in their respective conferences.
What is the play-in Tournament Format?
The teams with the seventh-highest winning percentage in each conference will play a single game versus those with the eighth-highest winning % in their respective conferences. The two winners will be seeded seventh in the playoffs, but the losers will get a chance to redeem themselves.
The winners of the ties between the eighth-highest winning percentage teams and the ninth-highest winning percentage teams will play a single game for the eighth playoff seed against the losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 games.
How many NBA Playoffs 2023 Games per Round?
Both conferences conduct the playoffs in the conservative bracket format. All rounds consist of the best-of-seven series. Series are played in the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while their opponent hosts games 3, 4, and 6, with games 5, 6, and 7 being played if needed.
How to Watch NBA Playoff 2023 Highlights Online?
You can watch NBA Playoffs Highlights on the following mediums:
- Youtube TV
- NBA Game Pass
- ESPN
- At &T
- Online Streaming like Sling, fubo, hulu, Peacock