How to follow former UK players, other Kentuckians in the NBA playoffs

The NBA playoffs tip Saturday, and there’s plenty of rooting interests with local connections.

Former University of Kentucky stars highlight the postseason itinerary; a total of 11 ex-Cats are on playoff rosters and two more — Dwane Casey and Pat Riley — have direct ties to teams vying for a championship.

Follow @ExCats on Twitter for results and stats from every game involving former UK players this postseason. The account is Kentucky.com’s primary source for tracking former University of Kentucky athletes in all sports.

In total, 11 of the 16 playoff teams offer something familiar for basketball fans in Kentucky. Each series except for the 2-7 showdown in the Western Conference — the Golden State Warriors vs. the San Antonio Spurs — features at least one Kentucky connection.

Here’s a look at each team with such a connection, as well as the TV schedule for their first-round series.

Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Connections: Minnesota, the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, boasts former UK star Karl-Anthony Towns as well as Gorgui Dieng, who was a standout at Louisville, as part of its rotation. Jeff Teague, the Timberwolves’ starting point guard, is the brother of former UK guard Marquis Teague.

Chinanu Onuaku, who played at U of L, is on Houston’s roster but appeared in only one game during the regular season.

The series: Houston (65-17) is the top seed in the west. The Rockets swept the No. 8 Timberwolves (47-35) in the regular-season series, 4-0.

Schedule

Game one: at Houston, 9 p.m. Sunday (TNT)

Game two: at Houston, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18 (TNT)

Game three: at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 21 (ESPN)

Game four: at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Monday, April 23 (TNT)

Game five: at Houston (if necessary)

Game six: at Minnesota (if necessary)

Game seven: at Houston (if necessary)

Portland Trail Blazers vs. New Orleans Pelicans

Connections: Four former University of Kentucky players — Anthony Davis, Deandre Liggins, Darius Miller and Rajon Rondo — are on the Pelicans’ postseason roster. DeMarcus Cousins, who suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the regular season, is also a member of the Pelicans.

Portland has no Kentucky ties.

The series: New Orleans is the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with a 48-34 record. No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers finished 49-33. They split their head-to-head meetings, 2-2.

Schedule

Game one: at Portland, 10:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN)

Game two: at Portland, 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17 (TNT)

Game three: at New Orleans, 9 p.m. Thursday, April 19 (NBA TV)

Game four: at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Saturday, April 21 (TNT)

Game five: at Portland (if necessary)

Game six: at New Orleans (if necessary)

Game seven: at Portland (if necessary)

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Utah Jazz

Connections: Ex-Cats Dakari Johnson and Patrick Patterson are both on Oklahoma City’s roster but only Patterson figures to be part of the playoff rotation; Johnson played in 31 games for the Thunder this season but logged extensive minutes on only a handful of occasions.

Donovan Mitchell, one of the season’s biggest Rookie of the Year challengers, played at the University of Louisville. He’s averaged 20.5 points and 3.7 assists in his debut campaign.

The series: OKC finished with the edge in the standings but both teams sport a 48-34 record. The Thunder won the regular-season series, 3-1.

Schedule

Game one: at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. Sunday (TNT)

Game two: at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 18 (NBA TV)

Game three: at Utah, 10 p.m. Saturday, April 21 (ESPN)

Game four: at Utah, 10:30 p.m. Monday, April 23 (TNT)

Game five: at Oklahoma City (if necessary)

Game six: at Utah (if necessary)

Game seven: at Oklahoma City (if necessary)

Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards

Connections: Former UK standout John Wall is the Wizards’ starting point guard. Jodie Meeks was in the Wizards’ rotation this season but he was suspended 25 games Friday after violating the league’s anti-drug program.

Dwane Casey, the head coach of the Raptors, played and coached at UK. He is considered a frontrunner for the league’s Coach of the Year award after leading Toronto to its best finish in franchise history.

The series: Toronto (59-23) is the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference for the first time in its history. The season series between it and Washington (43-39) was a split, 2-2.

Schedule

Game one: at Toronto, 5:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN

Game two: at Toronto, 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 17 (NBA TV)

Game three: at Washington, 8 p.m. Friday, April 20 (ESPN2)

Game four: at Washington, 6 p.m. Sunday, April 22 (TNT)

Game five: at Toronto (if necessary)

Game six: at Washington (if necessary)

Game seven: at Toronto (if necessary)

Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Connections: Eric Bledsoe, who played at UK, joined the Bucks midseason as part of a trade. Terry Rozier, the former U of L guard, is expected to start for the Celtics, which have been ravaged by injuries this season.

The series: Boston (55-27) finished with the No. 2 seed despite its roster struggles. Milwaukee (44-38) and the Celtics split their regular-season bouts, 2-2.

Schedule

Game one: at Boston, 1 p.m. Sunday (TNT)

Game two: at Boston, 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 17 (TNT)

Game three: at Milwaukee, 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 20 (ESPN)

Game four: at Milwaukee, 1 p.m. Sunday, April 22 (ABC)

Game five: at Boston (if necessary)

Game six: at Milwaukee (if necessary)

Game seven: at Boston (if necessary)

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat

Connections: Bam Adebayo played in 69 games as a rookie with the Heat, averaging 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. Miami President Pat Riley played at UK in the 1960’s.

Philadelphia features no known Kentucky ties.

The series: Philadelphia (52-30) finished as the No. 3 seed while Miami (44-38) ended up sixth in the standings. They split their head-to-head meetings, 2-2.

Schedule

Game one: at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. Saturday (ESPN

Game two: at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. Monday, April 16 (TNT)

Game three: at Miami, 7 p.m. Thursday, April 19 (TNT)

Game four: at Miami, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 21 (TNT)

Game five: at Philadelphia (if necessary)

Game six: at Miami (if necessary)

Game seven: at Philadelphia (if necessary)

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Indiana Pacers

Connections: Former UK player Alex Poythress is on Indiana’s roster. He’s appeared in 25 games this season but played double-digit minutes just one time; he’s averaging 4.2 minutes on the year and likely won’t see much postseason action.

Cleveland has no known Kentucky ties, but MVP candidate LeBron James did the “Y” once at a UK game and his son in 2016 was reportedly offered a scholarship to the school.

The series: Cleveland (50-32) finished higher in the standings than Indiana (48-34, but the Pacers won the regular-season series, 3-1.

Schedule

Game one: at Cleveland, 3:30 p.m Sunday (ABC)

Game two: at Cleveland, 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 18 (TNT)

Game three: at Indiana, 7 p.m. Friday, April 20 (ESPN)

Game four: at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22 (TNT)

Game five: at Cleveland (if necessary)

Game six: at Indiana (if necessary)

Game seven: at Cleveland (if necessary)

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 7:21 PM with the headline "How to follow former UK players, other Kentuckians in the NBA playoffs."