Wow, that NBA postseason really sneaks up on you, doesn’t it?

No? Well, it snuck up on me. I’m not even remotely a hoops fan, college nor pro. I doubt I’ve watched more than five minutes of National Basketball Association play this season, total. And so, while I knew from extremely incidental media consumption that the basketball playoffs were imminent, I didn’t consciously realize that they started at the same time as the NHL championship dance.

Still, when I said I’d keep a record of the major league sports playoff schedules, I meant every one of the Big Four. That means the NBA, and so I will present its schedule here.

I’m afraid I’ve run into the same impediment that I did with hockey: Because of the re-seeding that takes place, it’s pretty hard to determine next-round gametimes. Plus, the NBA has this annoying habit of starting up next-round games in instances when certain matchups have been determined, even when other current-round series are still being played out; that further muddies the waters. Therefore, I’m going to have to start off with just the first-round schedule here.

This detracts from my original intent, which was to provide dates for the complete playoffs, regardless of when the actual teams are determined. I really just wanted a one-time-published resource for when rounds begin and end, and when the last possible date for the championship game was. That’s the information I found the most frustrating to find; conversely, current-round schedules are relatively easy to find.

What I will do is update this post as subsequent rounds become set. At least that way, everything will eventually be on one easy-to-find page.

So, with that said, the schedule (all times EST):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 8 Milwaukee Bucks
Game One: Sun, Apr 23 - Mil at Det, 3 p.m.
Game Two: Wed, Apr 26 – Mil at Det, 7:30 p.m.
Game Three: Sat, Apr 29 – Det at Mil, 8 p.m.
Game Four: Mon, May 1 – Det at Mil, TBD
Game Five: Wed, May 3 – Mil at Det, TBD*
Game Six: Fri, May 5 – Det at Mil, TBD*
Game Seven: Sun, May 7 – Mil at Det, TBD*

No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 7 Chicago Bulls
Game One: Sat, Apr 22 – Chi at Mia, 7 p.m.
Game Two: Mon, Apr 24 – Chi at Mia, 8 p.m.
Game Three: Thurs, Apr 27 – Mia at Chi, 8 p.m.
Game Four: Sun, Apr 30 – Mia at Chi, 1 p.m.
Game Five: Tues, May 2 – Chi at Mia, TBD*
Game Six: Thurs, May 4 – Mia at Chi, TBD*
Game Seven: Sat, May 6 – Chi at Mia, TBD*

No. 3 New Jersey Nets vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers
Game One: Sun, Apr 23 – Ind at NJ, 1 p.m.
Game Two: Tues, Apr 25 – Ind at NJ, 8 p.m.
Game Three: Thurs, Apr 27 – NJ at Ind, 7:30 p.m.
Game Four: Sat, Apr 29 – NJ at Ind, 3 p.m.
Game Five: Tues, May 2 – Ind at NJ, TBD*
Game Six: Thurs, May 4 – NJ at Ind, TBD*
Game Seven: Sat, May 6 – Ind at NJ, TBD*

No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards
Game One: Sat, Apr 22 – Wsh at Cle, 7 p.m.
Game Two: Tues, Apr 25 – Wsh at Cle, 7 p.m.
Game Three: Fri, Apr 28 – Cle at Wsh, 8 p.m.
Game Four: Sun, Apr 30 – Cle at Wsh, 7:30 p.m.
Game Five: Wed, May 3 – Wsh at Cle, TBD*
Game Six: Fri, May 5 – Cle at Wsh, TBD*
Game Seven: Sun, May 7 – Wsh at Cle, TBD*

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 8 Sacramento Kings
Game One: Sat, Apr 22 – Sac at SA, 7 p.m.
Game Two: Tues, Apr 25 – Sac at SA, 9:30 p.m.
Game Three: Fri, Apr 28 – SA at Sac, 10 p.m.
Game Four: Sun, Apr 30 – SA at Sac, 10 p.m.
Game Five: Tues, May 2 – Sac at SA, TBD*
Game Six: Fri, May 5 – SA at Sac, TBD*
Game Seven: Sun, May 7 – Sac at SA, TBD*

No. 2 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers
Game One: Sun, Apr 23 – LAL at Phx, 3:30 p.m.
Game Two: Wed, Apr 26 – LAL at Phx, 10:30 p.m.
Game Three: Fri, Apr 28 – Phx at LAL, 10:30 p.m.
Game Four: Sun, Apr 30 – Phx at LAL, 3:30 p.m.
Game Five: Tues, May 2 – LAL at Phx, TBD*
Game Six: Thurs, May 4 – Phx at LAL, TBD*
Game Seven: Sat, May 6 – LAL at Phx, TBD*

No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers
Game One: Sat, Apr 22 – Den at LAC, 8 p.m.
Game Two: Mon, Apr 24 – Den at LAC, 10:30 p.m.
Game Three: Thurs, Apr 27 – LAC at Den, 10:30 p.m.
Game Four: Sat, Apr 29 – LAC at Den, 10:30 p.m.
Game Five: Mon, May 1 – Den at LAC, TBD*
Game Six: Thurs, May 4 – LAC at Den, TBD*
Game Seven: Sat, May 6 – Den at LAC, TBD*

No. 4 Dallas Mavericks vs. No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies
Game One: Sun, Apr 23 – Mem at Dal, 9:30 p.m.
Game Two: Wed, Apr 26 – Mem at Dal, 8 p.m.
Game Three: Sat, Apr 29 – Dal at Mem, 5:30 p.m.
Game Four: Mon, May 1 – Dal at Mem, TBD
Game Five: Wed, May 3 – Mem at Dal, TBD*
Game Six: Fri, May 5 – Dal at Mem, TBD*
Game Seven: Sun, May 7 – Mem at Dal, TBD*

* - if necessary

UPDATE, 5/7/2006: Here we go. Hoops schedule for the second round Conference Semifinals (all times EST). And as a bonus, TV networks included, where known:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
Game One: Sun, May 7 - Cle at Det, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Game Two: Tues, May 9 – Cle at Det, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game Three: Sat, May 13 – Det at Cle, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Game Four: Mon, May 15 – Det at Cle, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game Five: Wed, May 17 – Cle at Det, TBD (TNT)*
Game Six: Fri, May 19 – Det at Cle, TBD (ESPN)*
Game Seven: Sun, May 21 – Cle at Det, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)*

No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 3 New Jersey Nets
Game One: Mon, May 8 – NJ at Mia, 8 p.m. (TNT)
Game Two: Wed, May 10 – NJ at Mia, 8 p.m. (TNT)
Game Three: Fri, May 12 – Mia at NJ, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Game Four: Sun, May 14 – Mia at NJ, TBD
Game Five: Tues, May 16 – NJ at Mia, 8 p.m. (TNT)*
Game Six: Thurs, May 18 – Mia at NJ, 8 p.m. (ESPN)*
Game Seven: Sun, May 21 – NJ at Mia, TBD*

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 4 Dallas Mavericks
Game One: Sun, May 7 – Dal at SA, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Game Two: Tues, May 9 – Dal at SA, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game Three: Sat, May 13 – SA at Dal, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Game Four: Mon, May 15 – SA at Dal, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game Five: Wed, May 17 – Dal at SA, TBD (TNT)*
Game Six: Fri, May 19 – SA at Dal, TBD (ESPN)*
Game Seven: Mon, May 22 – Dal at SA, TBD (TNT)*

No. 2 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers
Game One: Mon, May 8 – LAC at Phx, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game Two: Wed, May 10 – LAC at Phx, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game Three: Fri, May 12 – Phx at LAC, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game Four: Sun, May 14 – Phx at LAC, TBD
Game Five: Tues, May 16 – LAC at Phx, TBD*
Game Six: Thurs, May 18 – Phx at LAC, TBD*
Game Seven: Mon, May 22 – LAC at Phx, TBD*

* - if necessary

UPDATE, 5/21/2006: Well, half the Conference Finals are set. I’ll go ahead and post the schedule for the Eastern showdown; the West will be determined tomorrow.

Conference Finals

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 2 Miami Heat
Game One: Tues, May 23 - Mia at Det, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Game Two: Thurs, May 25 – Mia at Det, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Game Three: Sat, May 27 – Det at Mia, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Game Four: Mon, May 29 – Det at Mia, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Game Five: Wed, May 31 – Mia at Det, 8 p.m. (ESPN)*
Game Six: Fri, Jun 2 – Det at Mia, 8 p.m. (ESPN)*
Game Seven: Sun, Jun 4 – Mia at Det, 8 p.m. (ABC)*

* - if necessary