Right about now, every sports fan is prepping for the NBA Playoffs. They’re poring over game time schedules, evaluating their decision to ditch cable television and likely burning all the Lebron James gear they can get their hands on. Rest assured playoff fans, a select few of you will be able to watch the NBA Playoffs on Xbox Live using a mix of apps and services.
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Tonight at 7 PM on ESPN the NBA Playoffs starts with a live broadcast of the Houston Rockets vs. the Dallas Mavericks. It continues tomorrow with Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards game airing on TNT beginning at 3 PM. Games will continue airing on the channel on Saturday at 3 PM and Sunday at 6:30 PM. During the work week NBA Playoffs games will start at 8 PM. The best part about these games airing on TNT is that the Xbox One is the only gaming console that allows users to streaming TNT through the Sling TV app that debuted last month. Sling TV costs $20 a month for a basic line up that includes TNT and ESPN. All of these times are Eastern Standard.
There’s a dedicated ESPN app on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 that’ll have highlights and scores. Unfortunately, it only gives live access to ESPN 3, which will spend the night airing college basketball instead of the NBA Playoffs. Both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 offer dedicated NBA Game Time apps that allow users to stream some games using a League Pass. Unfortunately, that League Pass just covers regular season games.
Of course, anyone with an Xbox One connected to their cable box can simply say, “Xbox, Watch ESPN” to get in on the action. For anyone without cable already, Sling TV is going to be the best way to go.