The NBA playoffs were announced – sort of – on TNT on Tuesday, with the first two games of the season shortened by Covid to determine the final playoff teams. And the Turner Network had to be happy with the tune-up for the play-ins.
The double-title in Eastern Conference games was up 60% from the network’s regular season average, TNT said.
The Boston Celtics’ 118-100 win over the Washington Wizards averaged 2.5 million viewers, beating any DTT regular season TV show since opening night just before Christmas. With a start time of 6:30 p.m. ET, the Charlotte Hornets’ Indiana Pacers 144-117 collage has averaged 1.4 million viewers.
The match format for 2021 alone sees the seventh and eighth-place teams from each conference go head to head, with the winner taking 7th place. The loser plays the winner of the game 9-10, and the winner of that game becomes the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Teams ranked 7 or 8 must win a single play-in match to advance, while the 9 and 10 seeds must win two.
Tonight’s Western Conference games on ESPN will feature the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, hosting the No.8 Warriors and No.9 Memphis Grizzlies at home against the No.10 San Antonio Spurs. The next West game is Friday on ESPN, with the East game scheduled for Thursday on TNT.
