NBA playoff schedule 2015: Bulls, Grizzlies look to clinch series wins, Nets host Hawks

The Bulls and Grizzlies try to close out their respective series Monday night while the Hawks look to stay ahead of the Nets.

by Satchel Price

Apr 27, 2015, 12:15 PM UTC

Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies could be punching their tickets to the second round of the playoffs on Monday night. The Atlanta Hawks, meanwhile, are trying to fight off the Brooklyn Nets' best effort at making a No. 1 vs No. 8 series closer than it should be.

The Bulls host Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center with a 3-1 series lead. Chicago had a chance to clinch the first-round series Saturday night in Game 4, but Jerryd Bayles hit a buzzer-beater to keep Milwaukee's season alive for at least one more game.

There's reason for the Bulls to be confident, though. Point guard Derrick Rose has played some of his best basketball in a long time recently, and Jimmy Butler's carried over his breakout play from the regular season. The Bucks narrowly came away with a win at home in Game 4, but there's pretty much no way they make history as the first team to ever come back from down 3-0.

The Grizzlies also are looking at a favorable situation in their first-round series with the Portland Trail Blazers. Memphis holds a 3-0 series lead entering Game 4 on Monday night, and while point guard Mike Conley will be sidelined by a facial injury, Portland is dealing with its own rash of injuries.

The Trail Blazers will likely look back at this season and wonder what could've after losing Wesley Matthews, Arron Afflalo and Dorell Wright. Those injuries have left the team severely lacking depth, and ultimately, in a huge hole after three games.

The night opens before those two games with the Nets hosting the Hawks at Barclays Center. Atlanta leads the series, 2-1, but dropped Game 3 after allowing Brooklyn to go on a 18-0 run in the second half. Now the Hawks need to show why they’re the No. 1 seed and make sure the Nets don’t tie up the series.

The Nets have held the Hawks to just 39 percent shooting so far, and that won’t cut it as the opponents get tougher. Atlanta might just be shaking the rust off after resting some guys down the stretch, but it doesn’t want to wait too long to get going.