There's no conspiracy behind Saturday's 12:30 EST start time. It comes down to money and matchups.
The NBA playoffs start on Saturday, bringing with it two months of cool moments, competition and coloured t-shirts. I've already made obligations to stay up past my bedtime (tee hee!) to watch the games out west, and I've already implicitly burned obligations to do anything that doesn't involve sitting in front of the TV.
It's obviously special, too, to have the Raptors in the running for the third straight year. After a franchise-best 56 wins (and the best winning percentage ever for any Toronto pro team), Raptors fans can finally feel a little at ease with the prospects of winning a first round series.