Injuries have hit teams hard early in the 2026 NBA playoffs, especially throughout the Western Conference.
And two of the teams facing these injury concerns are on the playoff schedule Monday, April 27. The only positive for them is that both are in control of their series.
The sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves own a 3-1 series lead over the third-seeded Denver Nuggets, but will be without their starting backcourt in Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, both of whom left the team’s Game 3 win with devastating injuries.
Edwards will miss the rest of this series with a bruise and hyperextension of his left knee, while DiVincenzo is out for the year after suffering a torn Achilles on a noncontact play early in Game 3.
Can the Timberwolves overcome those personnel losses to win one more game and get to the second round? Or will the Nuggets, who have been held under 100 points in consecutive games, fight back in Denver to stave off elimination?
The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are seeking a series sweep of the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns but they’ll be doing it without All-Star Jalen Williams, who’s out with a left hamstring strain.
Williams, who has battled injuries all season, suffered the injury in Game 2 and missed Game 3. But OKC still has reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who poured in 43 points to lead the Thunder to a third straight double-digit victory. If the reigning NBA champion Thunder win Game 4, it’ll be the only team to complete a sweep in the first round.
The other game on the schedule features the 1 vs. 8 matchup in the Eastern Conference. While the top-seeded Detroit Pistons don’t have injury problems, they have other problems, particularly on offense. They’re 13th in scoring out of the 16 playoff teams.
They trail their series against the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic, 2-1. Both teams are looking to end long playoff series win droughts – the Pistons have gone 18 years and the Magic 16 years – and the winner of Game 4 could determine the direction for the rest of this series.
Here’s more on the NBA playoff schedule April 27, including start times, where to watch, an updated bracket and scores:
What times are the NBA games on today? NBA playoff schedule
The NBA playoffs continue with three games on April 27, two Game 4s featuring the 1 vs. 8 series in each conference up first and a Game 5 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference to close out the night.
All tiems are Central
What channel are the NBA playoffs on? Where to watch the NBA games today on TV, stream
All three games can be streamed on Peacock. Two of the three games can also be watched on NBC.
Here’s where to watch the playoff games on April 27:
Stream the NBA playoffs on Peacock
NBA playoff bracket
Here’s the 2026 NBA playoff bracket (all series are best-of-seven):
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
NBA playoff scores
Here are the complete results of the NBA playoff first-round games:
Saturday, April 18
Sunday, April 19
Monday, April 20
Tuesday, April 21
Wednesday, April 22
Thursday, April 23
Friday, April 24
Saturday, April 25
Sunday, April 26
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NBA playoff TV schedule tonight, start times, where to watch
Reporting by Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
