In case you haven’t noticed, the conference finals for both the NBA and NHL are spaced out this week.

On Tuesday, Miami beat Indiana in Game 2 of their series. Normally, following the every other day scenario during the playoffs, Game 3 would be Thursday in Miami. Nope.

Then Friday, right? Nope.

That’s right, Game 3 is Saturday. That’s a three-day break for a post-season that seemingly has no end.

The same scenario exists for the other NBA series. There is a three-day layoff between Game 2 of the West finals on Wednesday and Game 3 on Sunday. Not only is San Antonio up 2-0, but the long break gives their veterans more time to recover. Advantage, Spurs.

Meanwhile, in the NHL, the schedule for the Chicago-Los Angeles series called for only one game during a five-day span. Game 1 was Sunday; Game 2 on Wednesday; and Game 3 is set for Saturday night in LA. A similar set-up exists for the Montreal-New York Rangers series.

So why are both leagues making fans wait to watch the biggest games of the year? The answer, of course, is television.

Both leagues want their finals to start in June to accommodate ABC and NBC. May is sweeps month for the networks, with their prime-time series wrapping up for the season. They are locked into their schedules.

June is a different story, as the networks begin their summer programming that includes the NBA and NHL finals.

Yes, the long breaks are ridiculous. But so is the money the NBA and NHL receive from the networks. It makes waiting an extra day or two more than worthwhile.