• Sunday Afternoon’s ABC Doubleheader features Knicks vs. Hawks and Suns vs. Lakers
• NBA Countdown to Provide Studio Coverage Throughout the Weekend
• Hoop Streams to Preview Friday and Saturday’s Lineup on ESPN Digital Platforms
• ESPN Radio’s NBA Playoff Coverage Continues on Thursday with Bucks vs. Heat
• Seven-Time NBA All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge Joined ESPN’s The Jump Wednesday

The first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs continue this week with seven nationally-televised matchups on ESPN platforms. Game coverage begins on May 28 with a Friday night Game 3 triple-header on ESPN and ABC.

The Friday night tripleheader tips off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN as Julius Randle and the New York Knicks visit Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Mark Jones will provide play-by-play commentary with Curt Gowdy Award-winning analyst Doris Burke and sideline reporter Cassidy Hubbarth. At 8:30 p.m. on ABC, the Brooklyn Nets, starring Kevin Durant, James Harden and former Celtic Kyrie Irving, travel to Boston to take on the Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. Curt Gowdy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike Breen will call the action with analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jones with Rachel Nichols reporting from the sidelines. Friday’s game coverage concludes on ESPN with a 9:30 p.m. nightcap featuring the LA Clippers, with NBA All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and the Dallas Mavericks, with NBA All-Stars Luka Dončić and Kristaps Porzingis. Dave Pasch will call the game with analyst Richard Jefferson and sideline reporter Jorge Sedano.

Saturday’s NBA Playoff coverage features an ESPN doubleheader. The doubleheader tips off at 7 p.m. when MVP Finalist Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers visit Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards for Game 3. Ryan Ruocco will call the action with analyst Vince Carter and with Malika Andrews reporting from the sidelines. The action continues at 9:30 p.m. as the Memphis Grizzlies, led by Ja Morant, host the Utah Jazz, led by Donovan Mitchell. Pasch will call the game with Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame analyst Hubie Brown and sideline reporter Israel Gutierrez.

The weekend coverage concludes on Sunday, May 30, with an ABC afternoon doubleheader featuring two Game 4 matchups. At 1 p.m. the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks meet for the second time this weekend with Jones, Burke and Hubbarth returning to provide commentary. At 3:30 p.m. the Defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, starring reigning Finals MVP LeBron James and Anthony Davis, host the Phoenix Suns, starring Chris Paul and Devin Booker. The Breen, Van Gundy, Jackson and Nichols team will call the action.

NBA Countdown presented by Mountain Dew will provide pregame coverage and halftime reports throughout the weekend with host Maria Taylor, analysts Jalen Rose and Jay Williams and Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hoop Streams, ESPN’s 30-minute digital NBA pre-game show, will preview Friday and Saturday’s matchups beginning at 6:30 p.m. each night. Christine Williamson will host Friday’s show with Gary Striewski and Arda Öcal, with an appearance from reporter Ariel Helwani, and Cassidy Hubbarth will host Saturday’s show with analyst Kendrick Perkins. Hoop Streams is available on ESPN’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts and on the ESPN App.

ESPN and ABC

ESPN Radio

The Jump, ESPN’s daily NBA news and discussion show, airs Monday – Friday at 3 p.m. with host Rachel Nichols and a rotating cast of high-profile analysts and reporters. This week’s cast includes Matt Barnes, Vince Carter, Robert Horry, Richard Jefferson, Zach Lowe, Jackie MacMullan, Monica McNutt, Kendrick Perkins, and Rasheed Wallace. On Wednesday, May 26, seven-time NBA All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge joined the show and talked about what it would mean to have his jersey retired in Portland. Full segment here: View

ESPN.com

Today on ESPN.com, What does it mean when Tom Thibodeau, a notorious worker, says that Julius Randle is a hard worker? Nick Friedell interviewed several athletes who played — and grinded — for the Knicks coach about what goes into the work. Plus, there’s a shot that is coming to define the future of the NBA and it was attempted 19 times in Game 1s of the 2021 playoffs according to Kirk Goldsberry — it’s the floater.

Coming up this week, Mike Schmitz outlines how Devin Booker, Ja Morant and others are making a splash in their first playoffs and how we should have seen it coming. Also, Zach Lowe breaks down why the Bucks look good in the early going and how they’ve evolved from last season’s disappointment and Kirk Goldsberry returns to offer guidance on Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and how he’s dismantling a title-contending Clippers team.

Additional NBA content, including this week’s power rankings are available on the NBA section of ESPN.com.

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