Defending NBA champions the Toronto Raptors take to the empty courts of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida this week, where they’ll face New York City’s Brooklyn Nets in round 1 of the playoffs. The Raptors beat the Nets three times during the regular season, but both sides have been in fantastic shape since the restart, so it will be intriguing to see how things turn out over the course of this best-of-seven series .Follow our guide to watch the 2020 NBA playoffs online and get a Raptors vs Nets live stream wherever you are in the world today.
Raptors vs Nets live stream
Game 1 of the Raptors vs Nets is on Monday, August 17 and the best-of-seven series will last until at least game four on Sunday, August 23. Games take place every other day in the NBA’s Disney World bubble, with a potential game seven set for Friday, August 29. Full details of TV coverage and streaming options are below – catch all the action wherever you are by saving up to 50% on ExpressVPN with this deal.
Much of the debate surrounding the playoffs has focused on the Lakers, Clippers and Bucks – which will suit Nick Nurse and his Toronto players just fine. The reigning champs secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, behind Milwaukee, and look good for another deep run in Florida this year.
Led by Pascal Siakam, they’ve been doing the business at both the sharp end of the course and at the back, boasting the third-best record in the league for three-pointers made – and the meanest defense since the restart this summer.
The No. 7 seeded Nets, though, have been impressing in the bubble, and they’ll have every chance in the series if Jacque Vaughn’s new-look formula team featuring Caris LeVert, Garrett Temple, Joe Harris, Rodions Kurucs, and Jarrett Allen keep finding their groove in the absence of star players Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
So while the Raptors are the favorites and have something of a psychological advantage from the regular season, now more than ever we know that anything could happen as we reach the business end of the 2019/20 NBA season. Read on as we explain how to watch the Raptors vs Nets online and get an NBA live stream from anywhere in the world right now.
How to watch NBA blackout games and stream basketball from abroad
You may not be able to watch the Raptors vs Nets series using your usual cable TV or streaming service, due to coverage blackout rules in the US or international geo-blocking restrictions.
When this is is the case, the simplest and most reliable solution is to use a VPN service, which masks your IP address – and therefore your location – when you visit a website. On top of that, it gives you the ability to reroute your device’s internet connection through a server in a different country or state, thereby getting you access to coverage that might not otherwise be available – even though you probably pay for it.
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Plus, you can try it out for free with a 30 day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not sold on being able to watch sports from around the world you can always claim your cash back. There’s a massive range of supported devices on offer, from Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPads, tablets etc. And if you subscribe to ExpressVPN now, you’ll also get 49% off the usual price as well as 3-months extra FREE if you take out an annual plan (the best value option).
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Toronto Raptors vs Brooklyn Nets: round 1 schedule and TV channel details
Here’s when to watch the Raptors vs Nets in this first round best-of-seven NBA playoffs series.
- Game 1: Monday, August 17 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT on ESPN
- Game 2: Wednesday, August 19 at 1.30pm ET / 10.30pm PT on NBA TV
- Game 3: Friday, August 21 at 1.30pm ET / 10.30pm PT on NBA TV
- Game 4: Sunday, August 23 at 6.30pm ET / 3.30pm PT on TNT
- Game 5: Tuesday, August 25 at TBD on TBD (if required)
- Game 6: Thursday, August 27 at TBD on ESPN (if required)
- Game 7: Friday August 29 at TBD on TNT (if required)
Raptors vs Nets live stream: how to watch the 2020 NBA playoffs in the US
The Raptors vs Nets series is being shown nationally across ESPN, TNT and NBA TV – and the full schedule for the series is just above – as well as on regional New York area sports network YES.
All channels are easily accessible if you’re signed up for cable TV, but if you’re not, you’ll want to consider picking up a Sling Orange package for just $30 a month. As well as ESPN, you’re also getting TNT – and the option to easily add NBA TV to your plan for an extra $10 a month.
Not only that, but there’s also currently a FREE Sling TV trial up for grabs, which means you’ll be able to watch the Raptors vs Nets free for a couple of games, if you play your cards right.
If you’re not too happy about picking up a Sling TV subscription just for sports, you can also check out an NBA TV Pass for just $19.99 a year. You will be subjected to blackout restrictions for in-market games where they apply – in which case you’ll need to grab a quality VPN if you live in the same area your favorite team is based.
Raptors vs Nets live stream: how to watch NBA playoff basketball in the UK
If you’re in the UK, you’ll want to tune into Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Arena at 9pm BST on Monday, August 17 to catch game 1 of the Raptors vs Nets series – no other games have been confirmed as yet, but may be pending this week’s results. The channels are operated by Sky, but you can also watch them with BT and Virgin Media TV packages.
If you’re only going to be watching the NBA, there are more cost-effective options than signing up for the full commitment of a Sky contract.
A Now TV Sky Sports Pass offers all 11 Sky Sports channels to watch and can be cancelled at any time. As well as the NBA, there’s also loads of football, cricket, golf, and F1 action, with pricing that starts at £9.99 for a day’s use.
That’s fine if you just want to watch one night’s worth of games, but we’d highly recommend the better value Monthly Pass for the majority of viewers. £33.99 gets you coverage of the rest of the season as well as early playoff games as well as the full month of content from other sports as well.
If you’re really only interested in an NBA live stream, you could also consider an NBA League Pass, which is an all-in-one subscription that offers every game left in the season on a range of devices. An annual pass comes in at £42.99, which is far better value than the £24.99 monthly pass, but you can also grab a seven-day free trial if you’re just looking to watch a Raptors vs Nets live steam right now – and best of all, every game of the series is on offer through the service.
If you’re looking to watch tonight’s game from abroad, you might be geo-blocked out of some of these viewing options. However, using a reliable VPN can easily get you around this and let you tune into the big game.
How to watch the Raptors vs Nets: live stream the NBA playoffs in Canada
SportsNet and TSN host NBA games in Canada, but it’s SportsNet or bust for the Raptors, so that’s where to tune in for a Raptors vs Nets live stream this week.
If you have it as part of your cable package, then it’s breeze: just go to the network’s website, log-in with details of your TV provider, and then you’re free to stream away at no extra cost.
If you don’t, you can subscribe to SportsNet Now for CA$19.99 per month and get you select coverage of Raptors games, marquee matchups from around the league, and NBA playoffs action. It’s also showing every Bluejays game and the NHL playoffs in their entirety, making it a good place to start in the Great White North.
You’ll also be able to watch the Raptors vs Nets online with NBA League Pass, though Raptors games are subject to blackouts where applicable. That’s not a problem, however, as a VPN can easily swap your location so when the Raptors do step out onto the court you can still live stream it all.
How to watch the NBA playoffs in Australia and get a Raptors vs Nets live stream
You’ll need to grab an NBA League Pass for full coverage of the Raptors vs Nets in Australia and check your local listings for start times, which will vary – Monday’s game 1, for instance, starts at 6am AEST on Tuesday, August 18 for those Down Under.
It’s usually priced at $300 for the year, but at the time of publication you can watch the playoffs and the finals for just $68.99. A monthly subscription costs $39.99 – though you can watch game one of the Raptors vs Nets series for free by taking advantage of the seven-day free trial.
The NBA League Pass is the league’s official streaming service and it works all around the world – scroll down for a more in-depth look.
Alternatively, excellent value streaming service Kayo Sports offers over-the-top coverage of the NBA playoffs and can be cancelled at any time – so we’d recommend looking into this option as well if you’re not a hardcore Raptors or Nets fan and just want to watch some hoops.
NBA League Pass: the best way to live stream the NBA online?
If you’ve been shopping for ways to pick up a Raptors vs Nets live stream online, then you’ve likely come across the aforementioned NBA League Pass. As the league’s official streaming service, it offers coverage of plenty of games and is available all around the world.
However, if you’re in the US, you’ll find a reduced-price subscription now available for $28.99. The caveat is that it doesn’t include any nationally televised games. That means you’ll still have to turn to ESPN, ABC, NBA TV or TNT.
The solution? Adding an NBA TV subscription to your account (available for $19.99) will give you access to full coverage, or you can bundle League Pass Premium with an NBA TV package for $59.98 for every game in all its commercial-free glory.
However, in the case of the playoffs, an NBA TV subscription alone should cover you for most games, due to some clever scheduling by those in charge and the fact the bulk of the playoffs is being shown on national TV.
Note that NBA League Pass and NBA TV subscriptions are still subject to blackout rules, meaning that if you live in the same area as your favorite team, you won’t be necessarily able to watch them – unless you utilize the VPN workaround as explained above, of course.
NBA League Pass is an international service, so you’ll be able to find different packages to suit international markets as well. In the UK, for example, a £42.99 annual fee gets you access to every remaining NBA game, without blackout restrictions or qualms over nationally televised broadcasts.
As ever, if you’re out of the country you subscribed to NBA League Pass in, it’s likely you can use a VPN to get around these restrictions – based on comprehensive testing, we rate ExpressVPN as the best and it offers a free trial so you can check it out, no strings attached.