How to watch the NBA Playoffs in the UK for free – channel guide, League Pass trial and more

The NBA Playoffs are off to a flying start. Today (Friday August 21) its game 3 in four first round match-ups. We’ve got Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers. Our guide has everything you need to know to watch the NBA Playoffs in the UK.

NBA Playoffs 2020 UK tip-off time August 21

The Game 2 action on August 21 starts at the following times:

• Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors – 6:30pm BST
• Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets – 9:00pm BST
• Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics – 11:30pm BST
• Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers – 2:00am BST

How to watch the NBA Playoffs in the UK

Sky Sports has the rights to the NBA in the UK and shows one game today. The pick of Friday night’s games is Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers and will air on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena with coverage starting at 2:00am UK time.

If you’re not you’re not a Sky Sports subscriber, you can grab a Now TV Sky Sports pass. These passes come in daily, weekly and monthly flavours and will be ideal to let you get your football fix. Now TV works on multiple devices so you can watch the games on your phone, TV, laptop, tablet or Chromecast. See the widget below to gander at the latest deals for Now TV.

The rest of the games will air on NBA League Pass in the UK. The good news is, you can get a free seven day trial of the service and then it’s a one-off fee for the entirety of the Playoffs, starting at £42.99. You can head to watch.NBA.com to sign up.

NBA Playoffs 2020 preview – August 21

So, after two games it’s clear Boston and Toronto are likely to progress past Philly and Brooklyn respectively. They currently hold 2-0 leads in a race to 4 and neither look likely to be caught.

That means the focus goes to Dallas vs Los Angeles and Utah vs Denver, with both series delicately poised at 1-1. Utah and Denver in particular look very evenly matched. The third game in these series is often a decent barometer for how it is going to play out, given both sides have had a chance to figure each other out. LA will be looking for its all-star players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to take over, while the Mavs’ young European duo Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are primed to cause an upset.

The NBA restarted its season in a “bubble” in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports. Despite some early scepticism, the NBA has done a magnificent job in getting back to the action. After some games to finalise the playoff positions, we’re finally ready to get to the business end of the season.

In the west, the two Los Angeles teams, the Lakers and Clippers, are favourites to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to their shared Staples Center, while the Milwaukee Bucks are favourites to come out of the Eastern Conference.

However, the unusual setting and the lack of home court advantage could be somewhat of a leveller and throw-up some surprises. The Portland Trailblazers scraped into the playoffs in dramatic fashion with Damian Lillard showing some incredible form since the restart. They could cause a huge shock by dumping out LeBron James and the Lakers in the first round.

In the Eastern Conference, it’s similarly open, with Toronto, Boston and Miami all expected to give reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks a hell of a fight for a spot in the finals.

Each playoff series remains a 7-game series, so we’ve got weeks of games still to come, in what promises to be the most unique and intriguing playoff series of all time.