Technologies

NBA Play-In and Playoffs 2023: How to Watch, Livestream Tuesday’s Games Without Cable

The NBA postseason tournament begins, with the first play-in games taking place on Tuesday on TNT.

The NBA postseason has begun. After Sunday’s eventful regular season finale closed out an 82-game marathon, Tuesday begins the first batch of the NBA playoffs. TNT will have a double-header Tuesday night, with the Hawks and Heat kicking things off in a battle for the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed and a showdown with the Boston Celtics. The second game of the night will have the fighting Timberwolves heading to Los Angeles to take on LeBron James and the Lakers, with the winner of this contest becoming the Western Conference’s seventh seed and heading to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies.

The Timberwolves will be without center Rudy Gobert, who was suspended after punching a teammate during Sunday’s game against the Pelicans, as well as Jaden McDaniels, who is out for the season after punching a wall during the same contest.

Needless to say, the NBA playoffs should be exciting. Here’s everything you need to know about watching and streaming the NBA postseason with or without cable.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference’s play-in game on Tuesday night.

Harry How/Getty Images

What is the schedule for the play-in games?

The play-in game schedule is as follows (all times ET):

Tuesday, April 11:

Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT; the winner becomes the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed and plays the Boston Celtics
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET on TNT; the winner becomes the Western Conference’s seventh seed and plays the Memphis Grizzlies

Wednesday, April 12:

Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN; the winner plays the loser of the Hawks/Heat game to become the East’s eighth seed and take on the Milwaukee Bucks
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN; the winner plays the loser of the Lakers/Timberwolves game to become the West’s eighth seed and take on the Denver Nuggets

Friday, April 14:

Eastern Conference eighth-seed game, time TBD but it will air on TNT
Western Conference eighth-seed game, time TBD but it will air on ESPN

When do the NBA Playoffs start?

The NBA playoffs start on Saturday, April 15.

The NBA Finals will begin on Thursday, June 1. Game seven of the Finals, if necessary, will take place on Sunday, June 18.

What does the NBA playoff bracket look like?

What channels will broadcast playoff games?

The play-in games will air on TNT and ESPN. The NBA playoffs will air on TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV.

This year TNT will have the Eastern Conference Finals, while ESPN will take the lead on the Western Conference Finals. The NBA Finals will air on ABC.

Best options for streaming the NBA playoffs

As all the games will be shown nationally, most of the major streaming TV services offer all the networks you’ll need for watching the NBA playoffs. That said, it can be a bit complicated.

Sling TV Orange: $40, $60 or $65

Carries ESPN, TNT and NBA TV; ABC requires Orange and Blue combo

Sling TV’s Orange plan includes ESPN and TNT. NBA TV is available as part of the Sports Extra add-on, which costs $11 a month. ABC, however, is only available in eight markets (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Fresno, Houston and Raleigh) and requires the Orange and Blue combo plan if you want ESPN too. That combo plan costs $65 per month in all of those cities except Fresno, Houston and Raleigh, where it costs $60.

See at Sling TV

Hulu Plus Live TV: $70

Carries ESPN, ABC and TNT, but not NBA TV

Hulu Plus Live TV costs $70 a month and ESPN, ABC and TNT, but not NBA TV. Click the «View all channels in your area» link at the bottom of its welcome page to see which local networks are available where you live.

See at Hulu

YouTube TV: $73

Carries ESPN, ABC, NBA TV and TNT

YouTube TV costs $73 a month and offers all the main basketball channels for the NBA playoffs, including NBA TV. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.

See at YouTube

Fubo: $75

Carries ESPN, ABC, NBA TV but not TNT

FuboTV costs $75 per month for its Pro option and ABC, ESPN and NBA TV but not TNT. Check out which local networks it offers here.

See at Fubo

DirecTV Stream: $80, $100

Carries ESPN, ABC, NBA TV and TNT

DirecTV Stream is expensive. It’s the priciest of the five major live TV streaming services. Its cheapest, $65-a-month Entertainment package includes ESPN, ABC, and TNT. You’ll need to move up to the $85-a-month Choice plan to get NBA TV. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels and RSNs are available in your area.

It is worth noting that DirecTV has an additional $15 «advanced receiver service» fee that automatically applies and is extra from the sticker price, which makes the Entertainment package $80 per month and the Choice option $100 per month.

See at DirecTV Stream

Each live TV streaming service offers a free trial, allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.

Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.