All eyes in Indiana will be on Caitlin Clark’s WNBA home debut.
The NBA made sure of that with their post-season scheduling choices.
On Friday, the NBA released the full schedule for the second round of the playoffs and made sure to exclude any Pacers basketball on May 16 to allow Clark a full audience for her home debut with the Fever in Indianapolis on the same day.
The Pacers are set to take on the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, with their series starting on Monday. They’re set to play a game every two days but that pattern takes a turn for Game 6, as they’ll get a three-day break between May 14 and May 17 to make sure Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana’s home arena, is free and clear for Clark.
This created a weird wrinkle in the schedule, as the other Eastern Conference second-round series between Boston and either Orlando or Cleveland will also potentially have their Game 6 on May 17.
The only game May 16 will be a possible Game 6 between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
By pushing back the Pacers-Knicks Game 6, the NBA also had to delay Game 6 for the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and either the Los Angeles Clippers or Dallas Mavericks. That game is now scheduled for Saturday, May 18, which according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, is a day that the league historically does not schedule games. Game 5 is three days earlier.
In a trade-off of sorts, the Fever moved Clark’s pre-season home debut one day which was slated for May 10 in order to accommodate Game 3 of the series between the Knicks and Pacers.
The second round of the NBA Playoffs will begin on Saturday as the Timberwolves and Nuggets get their series started in the Mile High City.
Meanwhile, Clark and the Indiana Fever are set to play their first pre-season game on Friday night as they take on the Dallas Wings. Their first regular season game will be away against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.
