Playoff schedule makes teams antsy

The glacial pace of the NBA playoffs produced a day without basketball Saturday, the nine remaining teams -- seven of which have already advanced to the second round -- spending their time on practice courts instead of inside arenas.

"We're trying to keep sharp and keep fresh at the same time. It's a little bit of a challenge," said Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, whose team is going through a longer state of limbo than any other playoff team.

The Pacers, who completed a four-game sweep of Boston last Sunday, are awaiting the outcome of the Miami-New Orleans series to determine their second-round opponent. By the time they play Game 1 on Thursday, the Pacers will have had 11 days of rest.

Game 6 of the Heat-Hornets series, with Miami leading 3-2, is this afternoon, to be followed by Game 1 of the second-round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

The Detroit-New Jersey series begins Monday, and Sacramento-Minnesota starts Tuesday. All four of those teams will have three days off before their Game 2s.