Over the past three seasons, NBA fans have been held hostage by the dominance of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East and the Golden State Warriors over the entirety of the league. While some fans made the case at the onset of the season for teams in the East like the Boston Celtics or maybe even the Milwaukee Bucks to overtake the Cavs, most were resigned to what looked like a fourth straight year of a Cavs-Warriors matchup in the NBA finals.
On top of the assuredness of the fourth round between those two teams, the NBA has recently battled the stigma that the regular season is meaningless. Despite the threat of possible Finals fatigue and a boring regular season, the NBA put together one of their most intriguing regular seasons in years. The Warriors look as weak as they have in years due to injury and apathy which has allowed the Rockets to become the one-seed in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis had an unbelievable stretch after the Demarcus Cousins injury that shoved him straight into the MVP conversation. The Celtics have dealt with injuries all season but the development of their younger players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown coupled with the brilliance of Brad Stevens and the rest of the roster have them looking like contenders for years to come. And this is all before getting to the season-long drama that has been the Cleveland Cavaliers or the emergence of a Philadelphia team that looks primed to dominate the league for years to come.
All of this occurred in the regular season before the real games even began. The NBA experienced a regular season full of intrigue and drama and its only right the playoffs have followed suit. Many assumptions about the teams in the field this year have already been scrapped and thrown out the window.
In the West, the Warriors supremacy is on shakier ground than ever before. Steph Curry is still out with his knee injury and even when he returns he may not look like the same Chef Curry we have come to know. The Pelicans have gone from a team seemingly carried by Anthony Davis, to one with the personnel and defense to give the Warriors – their second-round opponent – some fits. If the Pelicans start off the series hot and take the lead before Steph can return, it may be too late for the Warriors to mount a comeback.
If they beat the Pelicans in the next round, the Western Conference finals would become a matchup between the two top seeds, and the two best teams in the NBA, the Warriors, and Rockets. If the Rockets lose in the second round then the Warriors would face another tough test in a matchup with the Utah Jazz who are powered by likely Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the only real competition for Ben Simmons in the Rookie of the Year race.
The Cavs face a similar gauntlet. After being pushed by the Pacers in round 1, they have a matchup with the top-seeded Toronto Raptors/matchup with the troublesome Washington Wizards. Afterwards, they will likely face the upstart Philadelphia 76ers in what looks to be a powerhouse eastern conference showdown that hasn’t been seen in years. The Cavaliers are hoping to make it to another NBA Finals solely on the back of LeBron James
Usually, LeBron James and the Cavaliers are a lock to make the NBA Finals in the East but this year they face more challenges and the issues that come with a weaker roster. The Warriors are facing the stiffest set of playoff challengers of their four-year run. If there was ever a playoff field that could prevent NBA fans from watching a repeat of last year’s Finals, it’s this year’s crop.
Let’s hope the rest of the playoffs are as fresh and exciting as they have been to start. If that stays the case, then any fans worrying about Finals fatigue may be able to rest easier, as these 2018 NBA playoffs have started off with more competitiveness and drama than anyone could have imagined.
