For weeks, people have been speculating that this NBA trade deadline would be much ado about nothing and for the most part that was true. There were 27 players traded during the week of the trade deadline, the same number as in 2014 and one fewer than 2013. From that perspective this deadline season wasn’t an anomaly at all. It’s the crazed whirlwind of 2015 that served as an outlier.

Fueling the perception that this deadline was a dud was the lack of blockbusters to be had among the maneuvers. Tobias Harris was the most prominent player dealt and while he has potential and fits in nicely with Stan Van Gundy’s grand vision in Detroit, he doesn’t appear destined for stardom. Given the nature of the the trades that were made, the 2016 deadline was little more than teams exchanging role players, shuffling rotation spots and saving a little money here and there.

To that end, veteran journeyman Channing Frye may have been the most significant addition. His shooting ability adds another dimension to the Cleveland frontline in a potential Finals rematch with the Warriors. Getting Frye was a nice move for Cavs GM David Griffin and adds to his impressive list of complementary maneuvers he’s made since LeBron James agreed to return.

That’s usually the way trade deadlines operate. Last year’s big moves revolved around the Philly/Milwaukee/Phoenix/Boston point guard shuffle and with apologies to Isaiah Thomas, that wasn’t the stuff of a true Blockbuster. Most of those types of deals happen around the draft or into the free agency period in July when teams have a truer sense of where they stand.

The reasons for the relatively placid deadline have been plain for most of the season. Thanks to mid-level parity, there are up to two dozen teams who can convince themselves that they have a shot at making the playoffs, thus reducing the number of motivated sellers. Given the strength of the top-level teams like the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder and Cavaliers there’s little incentive for the next tier of wannabe contenders to reach for the diamond-encrusted championship ring.

Those factors alone were enough to induce transactional stasis. Then there’s the looming salary cap explosion this summer, which had the twin effect of increasing the value of star players already under contract and also limiting the appeal of players at the end of their deals. What good are Bird Rights when all they offer is the chance to wildly overpay a player at the end of their prime? (See: Howard, Dwight and Horford, Al for obvious examples.)

"We’re not in the business of making a 27-game gain for a long-term price to pay," Celtics president Danny Ainge said after his team didn’t make any moves. After what transpired on Thursday, he may as well have been speaking for 20 other GMs.

The Celtics are perhaps the most interesting non-actor at the deadline, given the upward trajectory of their roster, their general lack of a "star" and the treasure trove of draft assets that Ainge has at his disposal. On the one hand, Ainge didn’t have to do anything. His team is good, young and will have a high lottery pick in June thanks to the Nets. The Celtics also have one of the more harmonious work environments in the league and that’s not something he or his staff take lightly.

As Jae Crowder put it to Boston beat reporters in Utah a day before the deadline, "There’s a lot of talk about we need a superstar and stuff like that. But all five guys on the court are so locked in and so engaged that we’re one superstar. We all play together. It’s a scary thing when a team don’t know who to match up to, whose night it’s going to be on the offensive end. And, defensively, we all fight together and play together. It’s a scary approach."

Crowder’s not wrong. The Celtics won 13 of their last 17 games heading into the All-Star break before losing to Utah on Friday night. They have settled on a stable 9-10 player rotation that has reduced the offensive burden on Thomas, while also maintaining their defensive edge. The schedule has certainly helped with eight of those wins coming against teams who are not in the playoff mix. But the C’s have also registered dramatic victories over Cleveland and the Clippers during that span and risen to third in the Eastern Conference standings. Interestingly, Ainge suggested that their success made him more motivated to make something happen.

"I would say that the success of our team this season might have made it more tempting to do something that wasn’t strictly long-term thinking and short-term thinking to help us get better came into play," Ainge said. "We had a lot of conversations in that regard but there was nothing we were willing to do."

There was one thing they were apparently willing to do, however. Ainge hinted at a hush-hush deal that would have surprised the rest of the league had it not dissolved at the deadline. Speculation swung to established star players like Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, Paul George et. al. but the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett reported on Friday that 76ers rookie Jahlil Okfaor was the target. That deal never happened, thus saving the world another round of Sam Hinkie thinkpieces. Perhaps we’re all the better for it.

This is the other side of the Celtics’ equation. Their asset base is ready to burst and with as many as three more first-rounders at their disposal this June, something will have to give. They have nine players under contract for next season and have until July 3 to guarantee the remaining year for both Jonas Jerebko’s and Amir Johnson’s deals. Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller will also be restricted free agents. That leaves only Evan Turner as an unrestricted free agent after David Lee was waived.

Of course, all those remaining contracts are very tradeable, which leads to another interesting dilemma. Adding a legit star to their current cast could be enough to vault the Celtics into the upper tier of contending teams, but subtracting some of their standout role players would significantly weaken their overall strength. That’s where the draft picks enter the picture and they take on added weight when there are actual prospects to be had, rather than hypothetical draft slots.

That too has been an issue. Try as they might, Ainge hasn’t been able to cash in on his enviable horde of treasures to this point. They went after Kevin Love in 2014, but were trumped by Cleveland’s good fortune. They made a run at moving up to take Justise Winslow in last year’s draft but were rebuffed until Winslow slid all the way down to the 10th spot in the draft.

"We’re in that stage now and even the last draft of trying to do something, but we’re trying to make good decisions," Ainge said. "I think we made good decisions at this time this year. It would be nice to cash in on some of the assets that we have and it might be that we draft our three first round draft picks. That might be the best assets that are available to us."

What the Celtics, and everyone else, are left with over the last few weeks of the regular season is the status quo. The Cavs remain the prohibitive favorites in the East, while the West braces for a massive showdown between the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers. It’s in the margins of the playoff chase where the real action is taking place down the stretch and it’s within the margins where this trade deadline made its impact, or lack thereof.

There were deals to be had at the deadline. Many in fact. Here are some of the teams that did well for themselves and a few who left us scratching our head.

Detroit: The Pistons traded a protected first round pick to Houston that’s likely to be conveyed this year for a restricted free agent with back issues and a journeyman gunner on his sixth team in three years. They also acquired a young forward with potential on a favorable contract for a stopgap veteran and a backup guard they weren’t going to re-sign. In the aggregate, getting Tobias Harris, Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton for what they gave up is a nice haul for a Detroit team that is taking shape quickly. Stan Van Gundy is not a patient man, but he’s become pretty good at the trading game.

Cleveland: Channing Frye was not the biggest name to change teams but he may be the most important. That GM David Griffin was able to get the floor spacing big man for Anderson Varejao and a first round pick in a deal that cuts substantial money from the Cavs massive luxury tax bill stands as a nice coup. That he was able to swipe him away from the Clippers is even better. That none of the other top teams in the East did much of consequence made for an even better trade deadline day for Griffin and the Cavs.

Phoenix: The Suns could have three first-round draft picks if the top-9 protected choice from the Wizards for Markieff Morris comes through this year. Even if it doesn’t, the Suns will have that pick plus a future unprotected first from Miami to add to its war chest. That’s a decent starting place for GM Ryan McDonough to begin rebuilding a team that was caught between a full-on youth movement and unexpected success. McDonough has drafted well during his tenure and with two potential lottery picks at his disposal, he’ll need to nail these choices to get the franchise back on track.

Clippers: Would you trade Lance Stephenson for Jeff Green? Probably. Would you throw in a first-round pick for the pleasure? Eh, probably not, especially since Green will be a free agent this summer. This deal represents the two hallmarks of GM Doc’s tenure: modest short-term gain over long-term value and an over-reliance on familiar faces from Coach Doc’s past. That’s going to catch up with them eventually.

Orlando: Clearing cap space to make a run at free agents is a move straight out of 2010, and for a team that’s taken the long view toward rebuilding, this was a very curious trade deadline tactic. It may be that Tobias Harris simply doesn’t fit the Magic’s long-term plan and it’s not like Channing Frye was a difference-maker either, but not securing a first rounder for Harris stands out as a major omission.

BOSTON -- Greg Monroe scored 20 points and shot 9-for-13 on Thursday night against the Celtics. If he wasn’t the best player on the floor, he certainly was during stretches of the fourth quarter when the Bucks erased a double-digit deficit and got back in the game.

Much like an earlier February game against the Celtics when Monroe scored 29 points and carried Milwaukee through the fourth quarter, the C’s didn’t have an an effective counter for Moose. He passed well out of double teams and ate up defenders whenever he got prime post position, which was often.

The difference was that in Milwaukee the Bucks had a big lead and used Monroe as a closer. In Thursday’s game the Bucks were the ones doing the chasing. The Celtics had already built a sizable lead thanks to an initial surge that occurred in the game’s opening minutes when Monroe was on the bench.

The Bucks’ big free agent acquisition is a sixth man at the moment, which seems like a demotion in theory but in practice has been a nice lineup adjustment by coach Jason Kidd. With key reserves such as Jerryd Bayless and John Henson out with injuries, Kidd shuffled the deck by starting Miles Plumlee and O.J. Mayo in place of Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams. The move may not be permanent. Kidd hinted that he may switch the lineup back when some of the injured players return, but he offered no promises either way.

"Our bench has gotten better with Michael and Moose," Kidd said. "You start those two and our bench gets really thin. With those two guys being unselfish and knowing that they want to start, and we all know they do, for the betterment of the team right now we need those guys to come off the bench."

There are lots of other reasons for the switch. Jabari Parker has played exceptionally well since the All-Star break and Giannis Antetokounmpo is basically running the point, two developments that are crucial to Milwaukee’s long-term plans. There are numbers that indicate that Parker and Giannis play better without Monroe. The Bucks’ defense -- Thursday night notwithstanding -- has also been tremendous since Kidd made the change and they had won four of five.

"That’s for you guys," Kidd said when asked how Monroe has adjusted to the role. "You guys are into all the stats and stuff. You tell me. I don’t think his stats have changed. I don’t think there’s been that much of a dropoff. The biggest stat that’s increased is winning."

Kidd’s right. Monroe’s numbers haven’t really changed in the reserve role. He’s still getting his share of points, shots and minutes. His low-post game has always been effective no matter the circumstances and now he has the added benefit of working against backup bigs. Monroe has also been a consummate pro about the situation.

"That’s kind of like childish or elementary to me, when you talk about who’s starting," Monroe told me after the team’s shootaround. "It’s really not that big of a deal. As long as I play and contribute while I’m on the floor, that’s what matters."

Context and expectations are everything in this league and both are crucial to understanding what’s happened to the Bucks and Monroe. Milwaukee came into the season with great hopes after last year’s surprising surge from league worst to a feisty playoff appearance. With a prime free agent like Monroe on board, external expectations were raised to an uncomfortable, and so far unattainable, level.

"Everybody has their opinion until you play on the floor," Kidd said. "Whether those expectations are right or wrong, I think it’s a great lesson learned for your young kids to be in that situation because they’re going to be in that again."

If the Bucks had followed a more natural evolutionary arc, we’d have a much different feeling about their season. If they had won say, 30 games last season instead of 41, their trajectory this season would have been more acceptable, albeit uneven. Of course if they had followed that path, they wouldn’t have been in position to sign Monroe. That’s where it gets complicated.

Rather than ascend, the Bucks have regressed. Their defense now ranks in the lower third and their offense hasn’t improved all that much even with Monroe piling up double-doubles and shooting over 52 percent. Never known as a great defender, Monroe was an easy scapegoat earlier in the season. But the further you go down the rabbit hole, the harder it becomes to find fault with any one individual.

There have been injuries that have played havoc with rotations. Opponents have had a year to adjust to Milwaukee’s trapping schemes and their lack of outside shooting remains a problem, just as it was last season. Their schedule has also been brutal with a heavy dose of road games that will ease off in the final month and a half.

Beyond that, Parker is just 20 years old and with fewer than 80 games under his belt he’s still early in the development stage. For all of his talent and jaw-dropping flashes of potential, so is Antetokounmpo. Monroe’s arrival also coincided with the departures of Zaza Pachulia and Jared Dudley, savvy veterans whose value is never more apparent than when they are no longer there. Both have been key contributors on their new teams.

And Monroe has produced. He’s averaging almost 17 points and 10 rebounds per game with a .563 True Shooting Percentage. His 22.8 Player Efficiency Rating is the highest individual mark on the team since Ray Allen back in 2001. Just as there are numbers that suggest the other members of the Bucks’ core play better without him, there are numbers that suggest the Bucks are better as a whole with him on the court. Monroe may not have been the missing piece, but he hasn’t exactly been the problem either.

"Nothing is for certain," Monroe said. "You have expectations but you never know what can happen. I don’t have any regrets coming here."

As a player, Monroe is a product of another time. In a different era, not even that long ago, he would have been considered an All-Star performer. In this one, where spacing and rim protection are at a premium and Draymond Green can be viewed in some circles as the league’s best center, Monroe is a throwback to an age when big men worked the paint and stayed there. It’s not that Monroe is a bad player. He’s obviously not. It’s that a player with his skillset requires adjustments from everyone.

Consider what the Hornets were able to build around Al Jefferson when he was the offensive focal point. Or, for a completely opposite extreme, consider what the Celtics have done with Isaiah Thomas. The Celtics encouraged Thomas to play his high-usage game to the hilt and it just so happened to blend perfectly with the talents and personalities of his teammates. Thomas has adjusted, as well, becoming more of a playmaker in his first full season with the team.

What it comes down to is a question of fit, and it remains to be seen whether the Bucks can make it work with Monroe and vice versa. All of that takes time and it’s worth remembering that they are an exceptionally young team. At 25 years of age, Monroe is the oldest player of a core group that also includes Khris Middleton.

"If you look back at the history of the game it could be that we’re ahead of schedule," Kidd said. "There’s always been teams that have been put together that are young that have failed. Most have all failed because we all come in last place if you don’t win the gold trophy. The process for what we’re doing, I think we’re ahead of schedule."

That may be an unsatisfying answer given all that was projected for them, but it may also be accurate. That’s the conundrum for the Bucks to unravel in a season when expectations collided awkwardly with the context of their situation.

It’s a good time to be a free agent. With so much money coming into the league thanks to its massive television deal and the unprecedented rise of the salary cap, those fortunate ones are going to get paid. Despite the abundant number of restricted free agents and the presence of Kevin Durant and LeBron James, this year’s free agent class is not deep. The unrestricted guys are going to get paid and they’re going to have options. Here are a few who will cash in this summer.

DeMar DeRozan: Still just 26 years old and in his seventh season, DeRozan has hit his stride. His game has generally made the analytically inclined blanche, but he’s become a far more efficient player by attacking the basket and shooting a respectable percentage from long range. DeRozan is also remarkably durable, dependable and a consummate pro. If he and the Raptors capitalize on their breakthrough season with a solid playoff showing he’ll be able to name his price.

Mike Conley: It would be a shock to see the league’s most underrated point guard in any place other than Memphis. But with the season-ending injury to Marc Gasol hanging over the Grizzlies' already uncertain future, he would be wise to consider all his options carefully. Conley is the best point guard by far among the free agents and he would look good in a number of situations.

Nic Batum: A year after struggling to find his game in Portland, Batum has been reborn in Charlotte where his playmaking has been a huge asset for the surging Hornets. Batum fell off a bit after a torrid start to the season, but he’s been playing better of late and has Charlotte firmly in the playoff picture. His all-around game fits in just about everywhere but he has a really good thing going with the Hornets under coach Steve Clifford.

Hassan Whiteside: Behold the most polarizing player in the league, not just the free agent class. From his well-traveled past to the raging debate about how meaningful his impact really is, it’s hard to get a clear picture of just how much teams will value his services. But he is tall and he is a disruptive force at the rim. Those qualities alone will get him a big deal somewhere.

Ryan Anderson: In a parallel universe, Ryno would have been an intriguing midseason rental for some contender where he would have been able to show off his long-range shooting prowess on the postseason stage. In this one, where the Pelicans are clinging to any and all playoff hopes, he’s still in New Orleans on a team struggling to fight its way back to relevancy. Anderson can still shoot and shooters always make bank.

BOSTON -- Back in late December, before anyone thought seriously about the Portland Trail Blazers as a playoff team or even really thought anything about them at all, Damian Lillard knew something was wrong. They were playing the Miami Heat. The game was close and Lillard was rolling. Naturally, it was time for Dame to do his thing. The pain in his foot wouldn’t let him.

"At that point in the game before I hurt my foot I was like, ‘I’m going to take this game over. We’re going to win this game.’ And then that happens," Lillard said. "I just felt it. I couldn’t move the same. I was nervous, and after the game I was having a hard time walking."

Lillard figured he’d have to sit out at least one game with plantar fasciitis. That was bad enough, considering that he had never missed a game during his pro career. Making things worse was that the Blazers’ season was teetering toward the kind of irrelevancy that so many had predicted for them. One game became two, two became three and as Christmas approached they were fading fast, losers of five straight and six out of seven.

But then something else happened. The Blazers began to click without their leader on the floor. They beat the Cavaliers by 29 as reserve Allen Crabbe poured in 26 points after drawing Lillard’s starting spot. Then they beat Sacramento and Denver as C.J. McCollum went off for 61 points. The Blazers won four of the seven games that Lillard missed, which was enough to keep them afloat. More importantly, they had become a group that was not just a collection of players built around their magnetic star, but a team that reflected what Dame Lillard is all about.

"It’s not just me doing everything," LIllard said. "I’m not carrying the team and having to do it all by myself. It’s not me. It’s the group. I came into camp saying we’re going to be better than people think. We’ve been able to do what we’ve done because everybody felt that way. Everybody came in and said, ‘I’m better than what they say I am. I can bring more to this team than they say I can bring to this team.’ They took it personally."

The Blazers are one of the best stories of the season. Left in the discard bin after losing three starters in free agency and a fourth by trade, no one gave them a chance at competing this year, let alone fighting for a postseason berth. The future looked fine. After all they had Lillard, a smart coach in Terry Stotts and a savvy GM in Neil Olshey, but the 2015-16 season promised to be a painful, albeit necessary step in a rebuilding project that was pegged in years rather than months. Now they look like a playoff team.

Lillard’s numbers this season are outstanding. He’s scoring more and his attempts and assists are up without sacrificing anything in regards to efficiency. His ability to take -- and make -- tough shots off the dribble puts him in a different tier than many of his contemporaries. As one astute observer put it, he’s the closest thing to Steph Curry that we have in the league.

But we knew he was capable of that. Lillard had been Rookie of the Year, an All-Star, an all-NBA performer and his work in the clutch is already the stuff of legend. What makes this Blazers team so successful is how the other players have raised their games alongside him.

"I think he’s playing the same way he always has," coach Terry Stotts told me. "He has more responsibility and he’s taking more on his shoulders. We knew his numbers would be up. More than anything else is his leadership. When we lost seven in a row he never wavered. Everybody talks about elevating his game, I think he’s elevating the team."

"His role is different this year than it has been in the past," Stotts continued. "Much like C.J., now it’s his time because he’s put himself in position to be successful. Same thing with Dame. The first three years put him in a position where he understands the league, he understands team dynamics and it’s just time to be in that role."

Leadership is an interesting quality in the NBA. The best player is often the de facto leader but talent alone is not enough. As young players develop and become stars, leadership becomes part of the deal and many a young player has struggled with the demands. Some are outspoken. Others are reserved. Either way they are scrutinized and studied, their every action and reaction becoming part of the larger team narrative. The real work is done behind the scenes, away from the cameras and the microphones, but their words carry weight both for the tone they convey and the atmosphere they create.

Listening to Lillard calmly dissect a 23-point loss to the Celtics, a few things stood out. There were no justifications given, even when they were offered and plainly obvious -- it was their fourth game in five nights on a long road trip.

Did you just run out of gas?

"I don’t think we ran out of gas," Lillard said. "And that’s not an excuse."

The outcome may have been unacceptable but blame was collective, not personal. If any group was singled out by Lillard it was the guards for not getting back to meet the Celtics’ onslaught, which forced their big men to over-help leaving them vulnerable inside.

They played harder than us.

We just weren’t good enough.

Those are simple pronouns, but their usage is not accidental. They are part of an overall vision crafted by Lillard to bring everyone together and keep them there. He has that indescribable quality that makes people want to follow, like a saner version of Kevin Garnett, earthy and real without the histrionics and f-bombs. When we talked in September before the start of the season, Olshey referenced Chauncey Billups, not so much in his game but in terms of his quiet charisma.

"Chauncey’s the greatest natural leader I’ve ever been around," Olshey said at the time. "That’s a guy that can walk into a room and literally not utter a word and you know that he has the command presence that it’s just understood. I don’t want to compare him to Chaunce because they’re their own people. There’s never been an organization that hasn’t been better by having Chauncey Billups be a part of it, and it’s the same way I feel about Dame."

This is not all about Lillard, but it all keeps coming back to him in one way or another. McCollum has become a 20-point scorer, whose playmaking ability allows them to play the same fast, frenetic style even when Lillard takes his rest. They play off each other and both are happy to defer when one or the other gets in a groove. Their big men are young, athletic and particularly adept at rolling to the rim off high screen and rolls, which is Lillard’s bread-and-butter. This is a close-knit group, and that is the clearest reflection of Lillard’s leadership style.

Most of them were on the Garden court two hours before their game against the Celtics, which meant they had arrived at the arena early. A small detail, perhaps, but emblematic of their serious yet relaxed atmosphere. Some players were shooting. Others were catching up with Tim Frazier, the 15th man who was caught in a numbers game after a series of deadline trades geared toward the future. Frazier is playing for the Maine Red Claws in the D-League, but he couldn’t help dropping "we" and "us" in casual conversation about his former team.

"Everybody just kind of clicked," Frazier told me. "That’s the biggest thing about this team. There’s no egos. It started off this summer and everybody’s just been there for each other."

The summer is when it all started and it began when Lillard arranged for a team bonding trip to San Diego. The point of the outing, Lillard told me before the season started, was not to learn about each other as basketball players, but as people. He wanted to forge connections that went beyond the court to arrive at a deeper understanding of one another.

Lillard has always been driven by the proverbial chip on his shoulder and in this Blazers’ team he found a collection of kindred spirits. Whatever was achieved in that impromptu training camp, Dame struck the right chord with his teammates and they with him. That trip was the beginning of his emergence as the team’s unquestioned leader. So much has been said, written and insinuated about the breakup of the old Blazers but one thing is perfectly clear: Damian Lillard was ready for it.

"I always believed that I could do more," Lillard said. "I always believed that I could improve and you can put more weight on my shoulders. The one thing now, it’s like, every time there’s a challenge in front of me I kind of block out the fact that it’s a challenge and I go after it."

Player after player will testify to Lillard’s influence; how he sets the tone with his approach first and his words second.

"We have a really young team and he’s done a great job of leading by example and being consistent with his effort and his approach," McCollum said. "Not only in games but in practices as well. He talks when it’s necessary and people listen. People respect him because of his accolades and his work ethic."

Veteran guard Brian Roberts arrived after the All-Star break as part of a trade deadline deal and it didn’t take him long to see it firsthand. His first night in uniform was the Warriors game, a night when Lillard scored 51 points and served notice to the rest of the league that the Blazers were for real.

"That game was an eye-opener just to see the atmosphere in Portland and to see how well these guys are playing," Roberts said. "That showed me right away, like, ‘Wow this team is really legit.’ Ever since then it’s been the same story. It’s impressive how the guys play together, how much they trust each other. How (Lillard) commands the game and how much respect he has with his teammates. He goes about it the right way. He knows what to say, how to say it and when to say it."

In many ways Lillard and the Blazers have already proven their point. They have achieved well beyond anyone’s expectations and established a culture that gives Olshey’s rebuilding project texture and shape. Their work, however, is far from done. They have put themselves in position to make the playoffs by taking advantage of a home-heavy schedule that was short on .500 teams, and it will be much tougher during the final six weeks of the season. The next steps will be difficult, but the Blazers have created a foundation that lies comfortably on Dame Lillard’s shoulders.

It’s March, which means it’s once again time for NBA heads to warily cast their gaze at the college game, in all its floor-slapping, coach-stomping, billion-dollar glorification of amateurism. Roll your eyes all you want, March is a decent enough of time to get a working knowledge of the top draft prospects. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of some of the players we’ll be keeping an eye on this month.

Ben Simmons: We’ve spent most of the season operating under the assumption that the Australian lefty would be the top overall pick, but that may no longer be such a sure thing. Not that Simmons would fall far, but his outside shot is a major concern for teams and his LSU team has struggled to the point where the Tigers are a tournament longshot. That’s not all on Simmons and there’s not many 6’10 players who are as skilled and versatile. Still, there are enough questions about his game and the lack of tournament exposure won’t help.

Brandon Ingram: The Duke forward is thin. Really, really thin. He can also play. Ingram’s shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc and he’s long and athletic enough to finish at the rim despite his skinny frame. If anyone’s going to knock Simmons out of the top spot, it’s Ingram who is also a year younger. There’s a lot of upside to his game as he grows into his body, just hold off on the Kevin Durant comps. Please.

Jaylen Brown: The jewel of a talented Cal recruiting class, Brown and fellow freshman Ivan Rabb have the Bears playing well down the stretch after a shaky start. Brown isn’t a great shooter, but he’s improved his 3-point shooting in conference play and he can score. He has some rough edges that have not been helped by Cal’s spacing issues, but he’s 6’7 and can get to the basket and finish against college defenders. There’s not much consensus after Simmons and Ingram so Brown can play himself into the top-5 discussion with a strong March.

Jamal Murray: The knock on Murray is that he isn’t an elite athlete, but he’s a skilled and smart player who knows how to use screens and his dribble to get his shot. Murray’s been destroying SEC defenses and Kentucky looks like a team that’s peaking at the right time. Watching him and point guard Tyler Ulis operate will be a fun treat for pro fans. Murray’s upside may be limited, but he looks like a player who will have a long career.

Kris Dunn: A rare example of a first-round talent who returned for his senior year and improved his draft positioning. Dunn’s shooting is still suspect, but he’s a big point guard who should thrive in the NBA with more spacing and an up-tempo pace. Providence is a sneaky fun team to watch and coach Ed Cooley runs a nice offensive scheme, so make time for the Friars.

Notes: Dragan Bender is a likely top-5 pick who barely plays on his Euroleague team. Big men Henry Ellenson (Marquette) and Jakob Poetl (Utah) are worth seeing and Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield is a Player of the Year candidate who has made himself into a prospect. He’ll be a household name if the Sooners have a deep run.

BOSTON -- The Oklahoma City Thunder seem unbothered by things on the court these days. That’s a pretty good place to be, considering the eyes of the entire sport have been watching them for any signs of fissures or tension in what has to be considered as the most important season in their history.

Kevin Durant will be a free agent this summer and he has been the Thunder’s foundation for as long as the franchise has existed in Oklahoma City. Durant brought instant credibility to a team that was a blank slate when it moved from Seattle, leading the Thunder to a Finals appearance and winning a Most Valuable Player award. Yet, deep postseason runs have mixed with crushing disappointment and time is no longer a variable they can control.

Losing Durant would be devastating but into that pressure-filled environment, real tragedy has been a horrible constant. Ingrid Williams, the beloved wife of assistant coach Monty Williams, was killed in a car accident and the coach has taken a leave of absence for the rest of the season to be with his family. In early March, part owner Aubrey McClendon crashed into a bridge a day after he was indicted on federal charges of conspiring to rig bids for oil and natural gas leases. A few days later, the brother of Dion Waiters was shot and killed in Philly.

There’s no tactful way to transition from this awful series of events into a story of a basketball team at the crossroads, but what we are left with is a team trying to make sense of itself in terms both real and athletic. For the former there is grief. For the latter they have adopted a pragmatic approach and it’s on those terms that we must reckon with OKC’s moment of truth.

Take their recent stretch of play following the All-Star game when OKC lost eight of its first dozen games out of the break. While a couple of those losses signalled alarm bells, the team seemed less perturbed about it than the screaming WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE THUNDER headlines made it seem.

"Stay healthy for one and continue to keep growing. I like where we are," Durant said on Wednesday before taking on the Celtics. "I like the groove we’re in on both ends of the floor. We can’t lose as much as we lost after the All-Star break. We understand that, but adversity is good. You always learn about yourself through adversity. We’ll stay the course, build our habits and we’ll be fine when the time comes."

Staying healthy and being fine when the time comes have been significant issues in recent years. Of all the Thunder teams with Durant and Russell Westbrook, the best might have been the 2012-13 squad that won 60 games and had the best point-differential in the league. Coming off their first Finals appearance, the Thunder seemed inevitable. Then fate -- and Houston’s Pat Beverley -- collided with Westbrook’s knee.

Last year, of course, they didn’t even make the playoffs after Durant missed most of the regular season following foot surgery. More than any other factor, even more than the James Harden trade, those injuries have derailed their hopes. The Harden trade presents one of those tantalizing what-ifs, but blaming it for everything that’s happened since is an oversimplification of events.

When they have been healthy, the Thunder have been generally fine. They reached the conference finals two years ago before losing to the eventual champion Spurs in six games. There again, a key injury played a factor as they were without Serge Ibaka for the first two games of that series, which both went to San Antonio in blowouts.

Even that season was a relative disappointment. Conference finals are the baseline expectation for this team, which is a hell of a thing but also not out of bounds considering the talent on hand. One truly needs to see them in person to appreciate just how physically imposing and unguardable Westbrook and Durant are together. Their presence alone makes OKC a contender, regardless of positioning or matchups.

The good news is that OKC is healthy. Durant has missed only a handful of games while Westbrook and Ibaka had made every start until Ibaka sat out Friday’s game with Philly for planned rest. Their supporting cast is deeper and also much younger than the veteran-laden teams of the past. Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Andre Roberson and Waiters are all 24 years old or younger and rookie Cam Payne has become a valuable contributor. Their inexperience may show at times, but younger, fresher legs will be needed if they are going to run through the Western Conference gauntlet.

There are sound reasons for their lack of panic coming out of that sluggish stretch. For one thing, it appears to be over. OKC’s defense has ratcheted up over the last half-dozen games or so and they recorded comfortable wins over the Blazers, Celtics and 76ers before eking out another victory in Indiana on the end of a back-to-back. Sure, that home loss to Minnesota was unacceptable and the Thunder’s fourth-quarter execution remains maddening on occasion, but they prefer to take the long view on things.

"I think this has been healthy for our team," first-year coach Billy Donovan said. "It’s forced us to get better to improve. It’s forced us to look at ourselves in areas that we got to improve and it’s forced us to make a commitment in those areas to really make significant growth."

Still, there’s a nagging question: What if it’s just not good enough? OKC is on track to win about 55 games, which is a strong season in any other context. The problem is that Golden State and San Antonio are miles ahead in the standings and jockeying amongst themselves to record two of the best regular seasons of all time. Compared to those juggernauts, the Thunder no longer seem so dominant.

And that gets into the real issue here, which is time. What once felt eternal now feels finite. Not only is Durant a pending free agent, but Westbrook has one more year left on his deal after this season. It’s entirely possible that they will continue on in this vein for years to come. Both are still young and widely regarded as two of the top-5 players in the world. No other plausible scenario, with the obvious exception of the Golden State nuclear option, offers that kind of foundation for Durant to pursue championships.

If KD really wants a clean break, he will have his choice of any destination he desires. His hometown Wizards have been eying July 1 for years. The Lakers still play in Los Angeles and the Celtics would love to make a serious run, as would a half-dozen other teams. Such is life in this kind of bubble that a couple of innocuous comments about enjoying the city of Boston can cause ripples of excitement surging through a fanbase.

(For the record, Durant also offered this about the Celtics: "I’ve been watching this team a lot. They’re scrappy, they play hard, they love their coach, they love their system and especially in this building they play with a lot of energy." Start up the Duck Boats!)

Throughout the season, Durant has admirably kept the free agent wolves at bay. His circle has been both tight and tight-lipped. A few flare-ups here or there notwithstanding, there has been very little indication that KD is dreaming of an escape or that he is unhappy with his current situation. Idle speculation thrives in an information vacuum and fair or not, there will always be the thought in the backs of people’s minds that the KD-Russ partnership has run its course in OKC.

"We like playing with each other," Durant told Yahoo’s Chris Mannix. "We like hanging around with each other. Sometimes it just comes down to actually basketball. It’s Xs and Os sometimes why you lose a game. It’s not leadership issues or camaraderie issues, sometimes teams just play better basketball than you."

Even with all their talent that possibility -- that sometimes teams just play better -- is the biggest obstacle standing in their way. It’s hard not to notice that OKC is a combined 1-6 against the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers, or that the Clippers have lingered close behind in the loss column. Their run may continue beyond this season. That may even be the most likely scenario. In the present, however, the Thunder are just another contender hoping that everything comes together and time is no longer a luxury.

Winning or losing in the NBA is a zero-sum game as the Thunder know all too well. Throughout its history, the league is full of great players and teams that never won championships. While reputations and legacies are forged instantaneously in hothouse Finals environment, with the perspective of time comes an appreciation for the accomplishments of the runner-ups. Here are a few who never quite made it.

UTAH: The John Stockton/Karl Malone Jazz represent one end of the two-star, no-rings dynamic. While the Jazz never did win a championship, the duo put Utah on the NBA map and embarked on one of the more consistent runs the league has ever known. Through almost two decades together, the Jazz made the playoffs every year, reaching the conference championship round five times and advancing to the Finals twice where they lost to Michael Jordan’s Bulls. There’s disappointment in not winning it all, but there’s also a deep appreciation for their longevity.

SEATTLE: Utah’s starstruck contemporaries in the ‘90s were like a bizarro version: wild and unpredictable where Utah was steady and consistent, and starring their own updated version of Stockton/Malone with Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. What they lack in championship hardware they make up for in a romanticized remembrance of their past. Revered for their high-flying act on the court and scrutinized for the high-wire balancing of egos off it, the Sonics have endured as a beautifully damaged morality play for the ages.

PORTLAND: The late ‘80s and early ‘90s Blazers had the misfortune of running into the Bad Boy Pistons and Jordan’s Bulls in the Finals, but they were a consistent threat in a conference that was dominated by the Lakers. The Finals’ losses linger, particularly in 1990 when they took a 1-1 split back to Portland and lost three straight at home to Detroit. The loss to the Bulls two years later marked the end of their run as contenders and Clyde Drexler had to go home to Houston to get his ring. Those Blazer teams have to settle for being largely underrated for their time.

CLEVELAND: The early LeBron years were good ones for the Cavs. They made the Finals unexpectedly in 2007, gave the eventual champion Celtics their toughest test in 2008 and cruised into the conference finals in 2009 as the undisputed favorites. That’s when everything unraveled and things got complicated. Their inevitable championship trajectory soon gave way to frustration and well, we know the rest. LeBron went to Miami to win his titles, beating OKC in 2012. The Decision is the personification of OKC’s greatest fear, minus the homecoming.

DALLAS: And here is the redemption story. The 2007 Mavs won 67 games and had the league’s MVP in Dirk Nowitzki when they ran headlong into the We Believe Warriors. It was the worst possible matchup and it happened in the first round, denying Dallas a satisfying conclusion to a process that had been almost a decade in the making. It took another four years and a host of new players but Dirk finally got his title with the franchise that drafted him. Proof that patience can play off in the long run with a great player.

BOSTON -- Coming out of the All-Star break, the Toronto Raptors gathered in Chicago for what amounted to a mini-camp. They had two days of practices to work through things on the court, a luxury during the season. It was also time to focus on what lies ahead, and the tantalizing possibilities that have eluded this franchise for so very long. And so, Luis Scola gave what Patrick Patterson called an inspirational, powerful speech.

"Luis has been on playoff teams," Patterson said. "He’s been on teams that were trying to rebuild. He’s been on teams that were trying to make a push. Luis shared all of his information and it woke a lot of us up."

Scola is new to Toronto, but he’s been in the league for almost a decade. He’s played on quality teams with big postseason plans and everything in between. Even before coming to the NBA, the Argentine had already lived a full basketball life, winning championships in Spain and a gold medal in the Olympics. His words, and his experiences, carry weight.

"The All-Star break, we all know, is what separates good teams from great teams," Scola said. "This team has been in the situation where they’ve been really good and (then struggled after the break). I have been on other teams where it happens in the same situation. We’re ready for that to not happen."

Scola relayed his story and the message was clear: There may never be a better chance than the one they have right now.

"A lot of us have come from situations where we were on non-winning teams," Patterson said. "Teams that we’re at the bottom of the playoffs, teams going home, teams having problems with players or (the) coaching staff or this and that. None of us have been in this type of environment with the whole city behind you, the whole nation’s behind you. Just realizing this opportunity is not going to last very long and we’re all not going to be in the league forever."

As Scola put it, "I think this team has gone through all those steps and is ready now to make the next step forward. The look in people’s eyes is that. We’re going to make a step forward. We’re going to make it happen."

We first need to acknowledge that the Raptors are a really good team. They have won at least 48 games in each of the last seasons and are on pace to win 55 this year. Barring a stunning turnaround they will clinch one of the top two seeds for the first time ever and there’s even a small chance they can catch the Cavaliers for the top overall record in the conference. By any definition this has been a hugely successful season.

While the Raptors’ status as an an objectively good team has not been in doubt, they are also locked in an unwinnable battle with perception. Back-to-back playoff appearances confirmed their abilities, but consecutive first round defeats seemed to establish their ceiling as also-rans.

The Raptors know that they have to perform in the playoffs. No matter what they accomplish and no matter how many franchise records they break, the postseason will serve as their final exam. That’s a tough way to get through the 82-game grind, but that’s their reality and they all understand and accept it.

"Yeah, ‘They got to win in the playoffs,’" Patterson said, echoing the sentiment. "My thing with that is, it’s a process. It’s not going to happen over night. It’s not going to magically happen in one season. It’s a learning curve. We’re not trying to let what the previous years did to us, affect us on the court or our mindset. We believe in ourselves. In my eyes this isn’t a fluke. I believe in this team. It’s about going in and actually doing it."

It wasn’t until January when the Raptors went on an 11-game winning streak that people started to think that they might be really for real this time. Hot streaks comes and go, but they have played consistent basketball over the last three months. Their recent two-game slide marked the first time since early January that they had lost consecutive games, and they responded with a dominating performance against New Orleans on the second night of a back-to-back. These are not the same old Raps.

To be sure, they have done this kind of thing before. Following the in-season trade of Rudy Gay two seasons ago, a hot winter stretch catapulted them into the playoffs and lay the groundwork for the team that has evolved ever since. A first-round playoff series with Brooklyn played out over seven brutal games and ended in last-second disappointment. They started last season with a 24-7 record only to stumble home with a .500 record, their flaws waiting to be exposed in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Wizards.

There are several factors that point to this run being more sustainable. Since January, they have the fourth-best record in the league behind only Golden State, San Antonio and Cleveland. Their depth has been bolstered by offseason additions like Scola, Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo and their reserve lineups have been killer. The offense has been a constant, but their defense has perked up of late, especially with Biyombo controlling the paint.

Most importantly, Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan have stayed healthy while solidifying their status as All-Star caliber players. In their own ways, each have been revelations. Lowry has been arguably the best guard in the conference, while DeRozan has struck the right balance between high volume scoring and efficiency. From coach Dwane Casey’s point of view, his team has followed a logical progression. Yes, their core has been together for the last several years, but it’s still a young core.

"Everybody thinks we’re this experienced old team," Casey said. "We’re a young team. Everybody wanted instant success last year and the year before that, but we were still a young team. All these guys have grown organically. How old is DeMar? 26. I would still say that’s a young player. I’ve been in this league a long time, that’s a young player. Kyle is the oldest of that group but to come from where he came from as a backup in Houston and Memphis, he’s just now getting that opportunity even at a later age."

There are also underlying tensions that will play out after the season. Casey has one more year left on his contract after this one, which is a team option. DeRozan is set to become a free agent, marking a pivotal moment in the franchise’s history. Biyombo has played so well that he will likely exercise his player option to become a free agent and without Bird Rights, the team is limited in what it can pay him. Even Lowry is one year away from being able to opt out of his deal.

Every team has decisions like this to make, but not every team has reached this point of critical mass. It’s admirable that the defining characteristic of this Raptors team to date is their refusal to get caught up in the big picture ramifications.

"The first step was getting 50 wins, and now it’s to the point where we’re going to get that," Scola said. "Then homecourt was another thing, which we’re going to get that too. I believe getting through the first round, that will be the next step."

At the bare minimum the Raptors must win a playoff series. That much is clear. Only one Toronto team has ever advanced out of the first round and that was back in 2001 when Vince Carter was still taking flight. And then what? Will it be enough to go out valiantly in the second round or will they have to boldly go where no Raptor team has ever gone and reach the conference final?

Who’s to say they can’t knock off the Cavs, who have looked vulnerable of late? They’ve beaten them twice at home, including a thrilling last-second win just after the break. Everything is on the table and nothing is beyond their imagination. You can play this game all day long and still not come up with a comforting answer that satisfies the subjective conditions.

"I can’t control expectations," Casey said. "I know who we are. I know what we have to do to be successful and I think the players do too. Nobody picked us to be where we are, so I like that part."

Indeed no one did predict this kind of success and the Raptors have handled their business this season as well as anyone could have expected. Their ultimate fate awaits in just a few weeks.

The Cavaliers and Raptors may have locks on the first two playoff spots, but the rest of the Eastern Conference is such a mad scramble that teams can fall -- or rise -- from third to sixth and vice versa each and every day. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the race shakes out.

ATLANTA: After a February loss to the Warriors, the Hawks were 31-27 and sitting harmlessly in sixth place. Since then they’ve gone 13-3 games while playing near-perfect defense and have the look of a team that’s peaking at the right time. That’s in stark contrast to last season when Atlanta eased its way into the postseason and had an uneven run to the conference finals. Of all the teams nestled in the pack, the Hawks may be the most dangerous.

BOSTON: Just a few weeks ago the Celtics had third place all to themselves with a small cushion between them and everyone else. Then Jae Crowder suffered a high ankle sprain and the C’s lost four straight. They’ve recovered just in time for a five-game West Coast road swing and there are indications that Crowder may return at some point during the trip. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for a better evaluation of their prospects, health permitting.

MIAMI: What an oddly interesting team. The Heat have run through 14 different starting lineups this season, but they have finally stabilized with the addition of Joe Johnson. This is a much different team than the one that struggled through January. Goran Dragic’s play has picked up down the stretch and Luol Deng has excelled as a small-ball four. Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson have also been phenomenal off the bench. There is no definitive word on Chris Bosh, so let’s just call them the X-factor team.

CHARLOTTE: The Hornets have been really good since late January with the fourth-best net differential in the league during that span behind only Golden State, San Antonio and Atlanta. For all the attention coaches receive these days, Steve Clifford’s work still remains largely unheralded. That will change with a deep postseason run. The Hornets are 27-11 at home and play nine of their final 12 games on the road, but the slate is heavy with the stench of the abandoned hope club including multiple meetings with the Nets and 76ers. It would be unwise to discount Charlotte in the playoffs.

EVERYBODY ELSE IN ONE SENTENCE: The Pacers should make it, and anything less would be a major disappointment. The Pistons are right there, but have a tough schedule down the stretch. The Bulls are imploding, but they own the Raptors so maybe they could still be a spoiler if they get back on track. We’ve been waiting for the Wizards to click all season, and it would be a kick to see John Wall take on Kyrie Irving in the first round. That’s four teams for two spots, assuming the rest of the pack doesn’t fall apart down the stretch. The East stays weird.

If the Golden State Warriors didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have had much reason to invent them.

The Spurs would have served the role of the league’s most dominant team just fine, given that they have already established new franchise benchmarks of excellence even by their distinguished standards. The Spurs have the most wins in team history, while also cruising to an undefeated home mark with a markedly different style than the one used to win a championship just two years ago. In an alternate universe, their back-to-basics approach in defiance of analytically-driven trends would have defined the season.

MVP candidates in a world without Steph Curry? Sure, we would have those in abundance. You could have made a case for LeBron James, who continues to be dominant even without a serviceable jump shot. Kevin Durant recaptured his form, and health, while his teammate Russell Westbrook racked up triple doubles like a latter-day Oscar Robertson. In San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard has emerged as a post-Duncan franchise player to keep the Spurs in contention well into the next decade. Chris Paul has merely saved the Clippers with his ongoing brilliant play. Choose your narrative. This would have been a fascinating race.

We would have had plenty of ancillary storylines to chew on without the Warriors, from LeBron’s melodramatic second act with the Cavs to the Lakers’ implosion in Kobe Bryant’s final season, to the ongoing weirdness that surrounds the Knicks. We’ve experienced painful regression from mainstays like the Bulls, Rockets and Grizzlies and we’ve had our share of pleasant surprises as well, from Damian Lillard’s Blazers to Steve Clifford’s Hornets. And there was the 76ers, whose woeful ineptness on the court launched a thousand thinkpieces about their process.

All those plot points received their share of attention, but because the Warriors do exist they were all put aside and compartmentalized whenever the next game started. Even innocuous regular season games against overmatched opponents became must-see events and every night seemed to bring something new to marvel at, from Curry’s ridiculous shotmaking to Draymond Green’s next-level passing.

Everything that has happened this season has to been seen through the prism of Golden State’s seeming inevitability. They were not only the main story, at times, they were the only one that truly mattered.

Only the Spurs have offered a serious challenge to Golden State’s hegemony and by some measures such as point-differential, they might have even had the better season. But in three head-to-head matchups, the Warriors have proven to be the superior team. The true test will come in the postseason, which has only served to downplay the significance of the regular season even more.

In the here and now, the Warriors have dominated everything and everyone. There is no serious MVP debate. Curry will win his second consecutive award, elevating him into company with the game’s true elites. The only remaining question is whether the vote will be unanimous. In addition, the Warriors have a leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Andre Iguodala and a Green is a strong Defensive Player of the Year contender. You could even argue that Curry and Green should be considered for Most Improved Player, given the nebulous nature of that honor. They have been so overwhelming that they even provide two viable candidates for Coach of the Year in Steve Kerr and Luke Walton.

They won’t win all those awards, of course. Sixth Man has tended to go to microwavable scorers instead of game-changing defenders. As strong as Green has been, Leonard is the obvious favorite to repeat for DPOY honors. Kerr and Walton will likely split their share of the vote and there are a half-dozen other strong coaching candidates. But the fact remains that you can’t have a serious discussion about anything in the NBA this season, without bringing the Warriors into the conversation. (Okay fine, they don’t have a Rookie of the Year candidate.)

In the absence of competition, we’ve been forced to delve back into the past. Those comparisons to the great teams and players of legend are as irresistible as they are infuriating, and as Bill Russell once said, "It’s impossible to play against ghosts."

It’s those apparitions, specifically the specter of the ‘96 Bulls, that have so transfixed us this season. For all their individual success, it’s the pursuit of 73 wins that kept us bleary-eyed with fatigue from staying up late on the East Coast. What’s remarkable about this quest, beyond the fact that it even exists, is that Golden State’s losses have tended to come against the lesser lights of the league in very specific circumstances such as back-to-backs or when players sat games for rest or injuries. When they have been whole they are nearly impossible to beat.

As inexplicable as defeats at the hands of the Lakers and Timberwolves might appear, the Warriors are 11-1 against the league’s top five teams. That ability to play up to their opponent’s level and confront the challenges in front of them are what defines their ethos. It’s the love of competition and the very idea of even being challenged in any way that brings out their best.

"It doesn’t surprise me," said New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry, who was the lead assistant on Kerr’s staff last season. "The one thing that really got in their craw was the fact that people challenged their championship and said well, they didn’t go through San Antonio. They didn’t play the Clippers. I think they took that personally because they played everyone in the path of winning the championship. I think that fueled them. The way they came out was very interesting. They’ve run into a couple of roadblocks now, but I don’t think it’s anything that they should be real concerned about."

Easy for Gentry to say, who knows from real worries after his first season with the injury ravaged Pelicans. Temporary as they may be, those Golden State roadblocks had become troublesome in recent days. The Warriors had lost two of three -- at Oracle, no less, where they had won a record 54 straight games -- before beating the Spurs convincingly on Thursday night. And so, 73 wins is once again on the table.

Is that quest important enough to justify playing all 82 games like they were meaningful, or does the goal itself lead down a dangerous path? It’s a philosophical question that gets into the heart of where the NBA stands at the moment, between the poles of logical reason and the pursuit of irrational, even meaningless achievements that make the sport so compelling on a daily basis.

"I think it’s good for them," Gentry said. "I know everyone talked about well, you should be resting the guys. No. If you’ve got a goal like that ahead of you, if you do obtain that goal it might never be broken in this league. It gave them something to play for and it’s a great challenge."

At the same time, we all know the season is too damn long and that good health is as much a determining factor in the playoffs as talent and ambition. To treat each game with this much significance is to invite disaster. And yet, who are we to deny competitors the right to become immortal?

This has been the question that has gnawed at Kerr as far back as late January when his team crushed San Antonio in its highly-anticipated first matchup. Because of the often lopsided nature of their games, none of their main players top the 35-minute mark per game, but Curry, Green and Klay Thompson will all log slightly more minutes than last season. Kerr has rested players, specifically Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston and Iguodala, but for the most part he has resisted the scheduled time off that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has made a staple of his approach. The rational side says rest is paramount, but competition does not always produce rational reactions and the Warriors have made the impossible seem routine.

Kerr told reporters that he made a pact with his players that he would not deny them the chance at history, provided they were physically ready to play. Really, what else could he do? Even Pop has said that he would play his starters in the rematch on Sunday when the Spurs chase their own bit of history: a perfect home regular season. Even Pop, the big-picture master who pioneered the art of regular season maintenance has given in to the impulse of the moment at hand.

It’s good that the Warriors exist and that we didn’t need to invent them. They may have rendered all other regular season matters trivial and inconsequential, but they have also transformed the ephemeral pursuit of legend into an honest and noble goal. They made every game matter and for that alone, they will be remembered and rightfully celebrated.

The interesting thing about writing a weekly column is that it offers a snapshot of a moment in time. Sometimes the pieces hold up, other times they age poorly. Too many times, a guy I talked to on Wednesday got hurt on Saturday and forced a drastic last-minute rewrite, but that’s life in a league where narratives change by the day. These were a few that held up and stand out as my favorites to write. The Quotes this week are from these stories.

The Kobe Game and KG’s weird farewell: The apex of the Kobe Retirement Tour came in late December and early January as he made his final visits to the East Coast cities that helped birth, cultivate and cement his legend. I was fortunate to watch him relive his past glories in a place that had also witnessed his greatest defeat. Kobe gets history, which is more than we can say for Sam Mitchell who made the unconscionable decision to play Kevin Garnett in Brooklyn, thus depriving Boston a chance to give KG a proper sendoff. Was this the end for Garnett? Who knows, and KG wasn’t spilling any secrets. Each were true to themselves and the Garden appreciated both in their way.

Dirk Nowitzki’s low-key endurance run: If Kobe was subsisting on the adulation of his enemies and KG was serving as a legend in residence, Nowitzki was still operating as the main man on a team with playoff ambitions. Dirk’s historic status has long been clinched, but it’s this latter-day run that reveals so much about him. He spends hours getting ready and just as long recovering, but damn if he’s still got it. Dirk’s game was always built to last, but it’s the small, subtle things he’s done that have prolonged his place among the game’s better players that resonate now.

Double overtime with the Warriors: Regular season games come and go, and even the memorables ones fade quickly into the background. What made this one stand out was that it delivered on the build-up, which covered several days, and lasted all the way through multiple overtimes. It was still early in the season, so the Warriors weren’t quite jaded yet. They were enjoying the scene, even reveling in it, and they had everyone’s attention. It’s fitting that their winning streak ended rather anticlimactically the next day in Milwaukee on the last night of a long road trip. This game served as their line in the sand.

Leadership 101 with Damian Lillard: Even the most optimistic Blazermaniac didn’t see this coming, but Dame doesn’t do hopes and dreams. The dude is all about the real and that has manifested itself during a complete roster overhaul that jettisoned four starters and brought in 10 new players. His play has been outstanding, but it’s his emergence as the team’s vocal authority and resident conscience that has elevated the Blazers into the playoff hunt. A lot of people worried about he’d handle this season. There is no one in the league I worry about less than Damian Lillard.

Grappling with greatness: Paul George has long been one of the league’s most fascinating players. Skilled and confident, he has surpassed expectations to such a degree that we have to invent new markers for him to reach every season. From role-playing curiosity to All-Star starter in just a few short years, we have yet to establish a ceiling on what he can be now and in the future. For a brief moment, PG was one of the top 10 players in the world. As January rolled around he was struggling to maintain his form. Always candid and forthright, sometimes to a fault, George reflected on his status and the burdens of being a franchise player.

The most interesting battle for postseason positioning took place in the muddled mess of the Eastern Conference’s second tier where the playoff puzzle has been all jagged edges and rounded shapes. Four teams: Miami, Atlanta, Boston and Charlotte came into the final week within a game of each other and all four finished with exactly 48 wins.

Fittingly it all came down to the last night of the regular season and in a convoluted plot twist the team that had the biggest win (Boston) got the worst possible scenario, while the two teams that lost (Miami and Atlanta) wound up with homecourt advantage. Charlotte stayed true to its under-the-radar nature and wound up sixth, which is not a bad place to be considering it’s on the other side of the Cavaliers’ bracket. All four are solid, well-coached teams with the potential for deep playoff runs, and all four possess notable flaws that leave them just outside the realm of true contenders.

This is the middle point of a multi-year process by which the East rearranged itself after LeBron James destroyed the previous ecosystem by returning to Cleveland. When LeBron was in Miami, the Heat were the undisputed Alpha of the conference. Yet there was always strong competition from the Bulls and Celtics and then later the Pacers. Those playoffs felt like cakewalks given the lack of depth in the East, but in retrospect the Heat were pushed to two Game 7s and a pair of Game 6s in their four years atop the conference.

Last season, the Hawks emerged as Cleveland’s primary challenge with a 60-win dream campaign and this year the Raptors assumed that role with their best season in franchise history. That’s all well and good, but the Cavs are still the undisputed favorites to return to the Finals even with a season that could be described as uneven at best and worrisome at worst. Handicapping the East still comes down the fact that the Cavs have LeBron and everyone else does not.

The real action has been found in the middle where the aforementioned four have been jostling for positioning since before the All-Star break. It even filtered down to the last two teams to qualify for the postseason. Indiana had a brief run in that mid-level company and Detroit is a far better eighth seed than the East has produced in years past.

In a sudden reversal that took a decade to unwind, the West has become the top-heavy conference with four of the top five teams in the league by net rating, while the East has become deeper and more balanced. For all their frustrating play, the Bulls and Wizards might have snuck into the postseason in the West, validating their seasons to a small degree like those of Houston and Memphis.

"The East in my three years here is night and day from what it was," said Charlotte coach Steve Clifford on Monday before the Hornets beat the Celtics. "We won 43 two years ago and we have 46 right now and we’re a significantly better team than we were then. The East is balanced. It’s a totally different world."

If this feels academic given the overwhelming strength of the Warriors and Spurs, to say nothing of the Cavs, well, it is. One of these four teams may emerge from the morass to reach a conference final, but few have been given a serious chance to unseat Cleveland, let alone ultimately challenge the best of the West.

The East’s rise back to respectability is the manifestation of a larger league narrative about the effects of parity under the current collective bargaining agreement. Shorter contracts have given rise to more roster churn and with that comes an incentive to compete in the short term without completely ravaging a franchise’s long-term prospects. Atlanta has regressed to a degree, but the Celtics improved from the lower depths and the Heat, Hornets, Pacers and Pistons all missed the postseason last year.

This new reality may be short-lived. Reports from the end-of-season Board of Governors meeting place the salary cap projections at around $92 million for next season. After years of relative austerity, general managers will have gobs of money to throw around and impatient owners demanding quick-fixes and instant upgrades. The smart teams have positioned themselves to benefit from the cap without mortgaging their futures. This has always been a staple of NBA roster management, but it will be even more pronounced over the next few seasons.

Of all the teams in the middle, the Celtics are in the strongest position going forward with a young roster filled with affordable contracts and a treasure trove of draft picks at their disposal. In many ways they are still in the rebuilding stage, and until (if?) they land a franchise player their work is not done. Everyone else will have major decisions to make with their own veteran free agents like Dwyane Wade, DeMar DeRozan, Al Horford and Nic Batum. Money may be no object, but these are still crossroads type of decisions for their respective franchises.

All of that is for a future date and we do the game a disservice by constantly pointing to the future. It’s a natural reaction in a league where so much power is concentrated at the very top by such a small handful of players, but it has the effect of stripping down accomplishments to their basest levels. The notion that everyone fails but the champ is a false premise.

As our attention turns to the postseason, the Eastern Conference gives us the strongest first-round matchups and the promise of a necessary step forward for several teams. It’s not rewarding mediocrity as much as it’s celebrating the positive effects of change and internal improvement.

Take the Heat, for example, who have taken on an entirely different dynamic since the All-Star break. Once slow and plodding, Miami is now faster and more dynamic. That has a lot to do with the addition of Joe Johnson, whose shooting ability has opened up space for Goran Dragic to operate. Miscast as a primary option for most of his career, derided as ISO-Joe in stagnant offenses, Johnson has been rejuvenated in Miami and Dragic has found his stride. Johnson’s transition has been so seamless it’s almost been taken for granted.

"He’s been in the league, what 15 years? He knows how to play basketball," Dragic said. "You just give him a situation and he’s going to figure it out because he’s a smart player."

Miami’s first round opponent, Charlotte, has also enjoyed a late-season surge. Like the Heat, the Hornets added a veteran after the All-Star break when they acquired Courtney Lee who solidified the wing position and added another potent shooter to Charlotte’s mix.

"He helps in every phase of the game," Clifford said. "He’s a smart pro player. Whatever the coverage is he gets it right every time. Whatever you’re running offense he doesn’t blow any sets. When he’s open, he shoots it. When he’s not, he passes it or drives it and he can really guard."

With smallball fours, scoring point guards and playmaking wings, the Heat and Hornets are mirror images of one another. Statistically this series is too close to call, much like the one that began in Atlanta where the Hawks are taking on the Celtics.

If the C’s had a preference, it would have been to avoid Atlanta who took three out of four regular season matchups including an important win last Saturday that effectively sealed each other’s postseason fates. The matchups may favor Atlanta, but overall there is not much separation between the two.

The Hawks were the league’s most pleasant surprise last season, with a gorgeous offensive blend of shooting and pace augmented by veterans having career years. With much of the same cast returning, the Hawks repositioned themselves over the second half of the season as a defensive juggernaut. The Celtics, a surprise to many people except for themselves, also bring a tight defense, albeit one predicated on pressure and chaos.

Sure enough Game 1 was a helter-skelter affair in which both teams played to their strengths and revealed their weaknesses. If this series doesn’t go seven games it may because Boston’s Avery Bradley injured his hamstring late in the opener. Without Bradley’s smothering defense to keep Jeff Teague in check, the Atlanta guard carved up the C’s down the stretch.

Not surprisingly, these two series have produced almost an even split among analysts. You can make a case for any of them and pick just as many holes by arguing for the other side. Neither of these outcomes may ultimately matter much in the larger scheme of the Warriors quest for a repeat or the Cavs drive to claim their elusive championship, but for true connoisseurs of the sport they offer the most compelling competition in the first round.

Once you get the past the middle match-ups in the East, the first round of the playoffs looks a little shaky. The difference between the top four teams in the West and the next four is vast and there isn’t one favorite that looks particularly vulnerable. With that in mind, here’s a top-to-bottom indexing of the other series.

Blazers-Clippers: I’ve been hoping for this one for the last month. The Blazers credit a preseason altercation between Doc Rivers and Terry Stotts with forging their bond as an unbreakable underdog so it’s only fitting they would wind up on opposite sides of the first round bracket. The problem starts when you begin the analyzing the matchups. The Clips handled the Blazers in the three of their four meetings and Chris Paul kept Damian Lillard mostly in check. Still, all the pressure is on L.A., and given the offensive talents on hand as well as the simmering tensions, this should be an entertaining series. That’s really all you want in a late-night Western Conference matchup.

Pacers-Raptors: The opening game of this series validated every single concern people had about the Raps coming into the playoffs. From Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan throwing up bricks to Paul George going supernova to some questionable lineup decisions by Dwane Casey, Game 1 was the nightmare scenario for Toronto all over again. On paper this felt like a five-game series, but the feeling going in was that the Raps would face at least one gut-check game in this matchup. It’s already here.

Rockets-Warriors: Golden State can beat Houston without Steph Curry, but the Warriors would rather not have to find out. Curry’s ankle was the only concern after a Game 1 blowout and there’s really no need to test him if he’s not 100 percent. Don’t get any ideas, Pat Beverley.

Mavericks-Thunder: For the last time, I was wrong about the Mavericks. Credit goes to the ageless Dirk Nowitzki, the coaching acumen of Rick Carlisle and inspired play from their collection of castoffs. As much respect as I have for Carlisle’s ability to coach in the postseason (taking the eventual champion Spurs to seven games two years ago was tactical brilliance), I think the run ends here and rather rudely too. OKC would be wise to get this over with as quickly as possible because the last thing the Thunder needs is to get into a chess match with Coach Rick.

Pistons-Cavaliers: You should never take a Stan Van Gundy team lightly, but the matchups don’t look promising here. The Pistons will force the Cavs to play bigger than they’d like, thanks to Andre Drummond, but the Cavs have tons of size to throw his way and Drummond’s free throw shooting makes him a liability in crunch time. LeBron also seems to take particular delight in tormenting Tobias Harris, so there’s that.

Memphis-San Antonio: Love ya Grizz, but no.

BOSTON -- After a week of lopsided results and lackluster matchups, lo and behold a genuine playoff series broke out amid the frenzied din of a game that went completely off the rails in the first few minutes and only got stranger from there. You can go around the league in a day and not find a better playoff atmosphere than the one that took over the Garden on Friday night.

That’s not hometown parochialism either. For two days the Hawks talked about what they were about to walk into in Game 3, and they were still caught back on their heels by the energy reverberating through the building. It was a mix of wide-eyed delirium and hostile intentions. It was the kind of scene that produces three flagrant fouls, a handful of eye-to-eye standoffs and one errant swinging arm.

That swing, from Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, which connected with the head of Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder, appeared out of nowhere. It was so sudden, and so random, that no one caught it until moments later when Thomas was being wheeled out of a scrum by his teammate Jared Sullinger in front of a gaggle of New England Patriots while lord and master of the realm, Bill Belichick, cheered on from above.

After an anxious morning during which various Vines of the swing were replayed over and over, Thomas was ultimately saved. There would be no suspension.

In the moments following the game, the swing threatened to overshadow everything else that happened on Friday. No small feat considering the evening began with emergency starter Jonas Jerebko throwing down a volleyball spike of a dunk off a rebound and ended with Thomas scoring a career-high 42 points, putting him in such esteemed Celtic postseason company as Larry Bird, Sam Jones and John Havlicek. In between there were any number of comebacks and answers, egregious flops, dubious flagrants and a whole lot of insane shotmaking by both sides.

It was quite the turnaround from the first two games of this series that had been dominated by Atlanta’s ruthless and exacting gameplan. The Hawks quite rightly packed the paint and shadowed Thomas everywhere he went leaving the guard two imperfect options: force the action or kick it out to shooters who haven’t made shots. When he did force, he was met with resistance at the rim. When he kicked, he found shooters who couldn’t shoot.

This is nothing new. Making shots has been a team-wide issue for the Celtics all season and it became even more pronounced when their two of their best outside shooters -- Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk -- suffered injuries in the opener. Add to that a banged up Jae Crowder and it’s a wonder the Celtics had been able to generate any offense at all against what has been the best defensive team in the league over the last few months.

Thomas had taken a bunch of criticism from his local antagonists who contend that the first two games of the series were proof that he isn’t a true star, whatever that means. Everyone’s definition of a star player is subjective, if not entirely nebulous. Is a true star an All-Star or is that designation reserved for top-10 players? Top-20? Wherever you choose to draw the line and whatever criteria you assign, it’s worth noting that throughout the league IT’s opponents have no doubt about his status among the game’s best players.

"If you look at the playoffs in the East and if the playoffs are about having a guy to get the ball to in the fourth quarter of a close game, you start with LeBron," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said recently. "Then you probably go to (Dwyane) Wade. The next two guys you want on your team would be Isaiah Thomas and (DeMar) DeRozan. He’s that good. And he’s not guardable with any one player."

Or as Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer put it Friday morning, "He’s a great player. He deserves and gets a lot of attention and that won’t change as long as he’s playing basketball."

All that goes to the heart of where this Celtics team stands at the moment. Once you get past Thomas, they have a number of capable players but no real secondary option. Together they have have created an identity as a team in the best sense of the word. That’s a terrific foundation that works well in the regular season. It’s also one that Danny Ainge and company have been reluctant to trifle with too much at this point, but it doesn’t get you where you ultimately want to go and they know that.

We all knew that going into the playoffs, but the starkness of Atlanta’s Game 2 beatdown laid all those issues out in the open. No one has been spared, not even the sainted Brad Stevens, whose insistence on sticking with an ineffective starting lineup placed them in a hole the size of the old Filene’s department store in Downtown Crossing. That’s life in the postseason, where every player and each in-game move gets dissected and scrutinized in real time.

Adjustments! We must have adjustments! So, Brad got weird.

He started Evan Turner in place of Marcus Smart and Jerebko for Sullinger. The new starting lineup had played a whopping 33 possessions together during the regular season, but Stevens added with a grin, "They’re plus-20."

The lineup change may have borne from short-handed desperation, but it worked marvelously. Jerebko’s presence afforded a bit of spacing, a lot of switching and jolt of athleticism. Turner provided another ballhandler and Stevens effectively moved Thomas to shooting guard, running him off screens instead of initiating every action. It was a bit like the way Larry Brown used to deploy Allen Iverson, which was fitting because A.I. texted I.T. before the game and told him to keep fighting. Game recognizes game.

The Hawks don’t do weird. Asked about the lineup change, which Stevens announced before the game along with an intention to move Thomas off the ball, Coach Bud demurred. The Hawks do what they do and figure out the rest later. It’s all very Spursian and it may have contributed to the Celtics opening up a 37-20 lead after one quarter.

What made this game evolve from an interesting academic exercise in tactics and strategy and turn into THIS GAME territory was that the Hawks absorbed the opening salvos and responded with their own. Forced to play in a frenzy, they unleashed Schroder, who is as close to a chaos conductor as you’ll find on this team. They tightened up defensively and started making shots, which has also been a problem for them. The Hawks trailed by as many as 20 and led by only a single point, but the outcome was in doubt right up until the moment Thomas hurled a shot-clock beating three from way beyond the arc.

"For any of you that have ever run the mile, you run the first lap, breakneck speed, and then about the third lap, it just feels like you’re never going to make the last two laps," Stevens said. "And I thought that we were starting to wear down, obviously, after we took that 19-point lead. But then Isaiah made huge play after huge play."

Asked about the leeway afforded Thomas, the coach responded, "He can shoot it whenever he’s open or thinks he’s open."

Emerging from the madness resplendent in a podium-worthy suit, Thomas entered his name into the long book of Celtic legend. He couldn’t help but smile when he heard the names of the other franchise immortals who had eclipsed the 40-point postseason mark. Some players who come through here will pay lip service to the past. Others embrace it. Thomas is the latter. "The best players figure it out," he said and no one could dispute his place on that list on this night.

I.T.’s performance did more than ensure his standing, it provided a crucial step toward validating the Celtics and their rebuilding approach thus far. Lose Game 3 and their inability to win even a single postseason game would have become a thing, a stigma that would have stayed with them until whatever comes next in Ainge’s process. Around the Garden there was relief mixed with trepidation. This game had everything and the series was now joined, but Thomas’ fate left the celebration subdued.

He was ultimately given a reprieve and the exhale was heard clear across the Charles. Game 4 is tonight at the Garden and playoff basketball is back in Boston. For real.

The coaching carousel finally picked up steam this week with Tom Thibodeau agreeing to take over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Suns promoted Earl Watson to the top job by removing the interim tag. Scott Brooks surfaced in Washington and with Atlanta assistant Kenny Atkinson taking the Nets job, the openings are growing scarce. Here’s a look at the where we stand.

Tom Thibodeau, Minnesota: Thibs was not only the best coach on the market he may be the best coach, period. His defenses have become ubiquitous and in league full of grinders no one grinds harder than Tom Thibodeau. As was well-documented during his run in Chicago with the Bulls, his greatest strength may also be his greatest weakness. We’ll see how he adjusts to coaching up a young team rather than getting the most out of veteran squads. His new gig also carries the fancy title of President of Basketball Operations and this is where we’ll find out how much Thibs learned during his one-year sabbatical. The arrangement can work. Gregg Popovich has been doing it for almost two decades and Stan Van Gundy seems to have a clear vision of where he wants to take the Pistons. It can also lead to cap-space disasters and short-sighted fixes. Thibs has everything he could ever want and the guess is he will succeed because of everything he brings to the table, rather than have it destroy him.

Scott Brooks, Washington: How good a coach is Scott Brooks, really? That’s both an unfair question for a coach who won 62 percent of his games, and a completely reasonable one to ask. It should be noted that Brooks also won a number of key playoff series, including a 2-0 comeback against San Antonio in 2012 when the Spurs looked like the best team in the world. Even with that distinguished resume, his heavy reliance on veteran role players and lack of offensive ingenuity may have doomed those teams in the long run. Brooks takes over a Wizards squad with John Wall entering his prime and a need to win now. More than that, they need a firm direction after years of trying to latch onto trends without regard for personnel. This will be a fascinating experiment for both coach and franchise.

Earl Watson, Phoenix: The Suns were 9-24 for Watson after he replaced Jeff Hornacek, but that’s an unfair measure. Phoenix was a disaster from start to finish and by the time Watson took over, the Suns were without several key players. What is notable about Watson’s brief tenure is the development of Devin Booker and Alex Len, both of whom showed flashes in the final months. Booker in particular looks like a cornerstone piece for GM Ryan McDonough. The Suns have drafted well and may finally begin rebuilding the way McDonough envisioned back when he took the job in 2013. Watson deserves time to grow into the job with these players.

Kenny Atkinson, Brooklyn: Renowned as one of the league’s top assistants for years, Atkinson takes over a Nets team without much talent or draft picks. Brooklyn’s picks in 2016 and 2018 are owed to the Celtics who also have the right to swap places in the 2017 draft. It’s a smart play to focus on development and that appears to be the way new GM Sean Marks will take this club. It will be interesting to see how much pressure is applied from ownership, who have not displayed an ounce of patience up to this point.

TBD, Sacramento: The Kings seems intent on interviewing everyone, which is generally a sound strategy for a franchise that has made too many rash decisions for the wrong reasons. But they also have a window to make a move while the Lakers, Rockets and Knicks are still assessing their options. The big names have moved on and expressed little interest in dealing with the dysfunction that surrounds Sacramento. But this is another chance to get it right and finally find someone who can get the best out of DeMarcus Cousins. Maybe the sixth time will be the charm. Maybe?

BOSTON -- In the corner of the cramped visitors’ locker room, Thabo Sefolosha quietly pulled his things together amid the frantic rush of a series-clinching victory. A year earlier he had been absent from the playoffs, recovering from a fractured tibia caused by overzealous New York cops. The Hawks had dearly missed his steady play and defensive presence last spring, never more so than against LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Now fate has afforded Sefolosha and his teammates another chance against LeBron. This is a second chance for all of them. It’s a chance to prove that they are truly better than the team that concluded a historic, yet ultimately unsatisfying playoff run a year ago.

"My head wasn’t exactly in the middle of all this last year," Sefolosha said. "I’m just happy to go against them. It’s going to be a good challenge and we’re going to have to come out ready. I like our chances. I like our group. I like how we’re playing. It was very tough (last season). Very tough. But I try to think about what’s ahead, the positive things. It’s good to be competing right now. I’m just thankful and grateful for the opportunity."

To a man, the Hawks say they are better than last year. They’re healthier, for one. More experienced, for another. They like the way they finished out the season, quietly rolling into the playoffs on a sustained run, rather than coasting to the end of a high-profile 60-win campaign. They like playing this understated role. It suits them better. They have also embraced their identity as a smart and savvy defensive team -- the second-best in the league over the last four months -- as opposed to one that was known for its uber-efficient offense.

They are about to find out very quickly just how different they are with a rematch against Cleveland in the conference semifinals set to begin on Monday night. They do not need to be reminded that the Cavaliers swept them out of the playoffs last year in a lopsided conference final, or that the Cavs are now fully operational with Kevin Love and a much healthier Kyrie Irving in the mix. This second round series may be viewed by many as a necessary stepping stone for Cleveland’s inevitable march back to the Finals, but for the Hawks, this is their crucible.

"I think we’re a better team than last year, I really do," Kyle Korver said. "Our identity is more on the defensive end than the offensive end this year. I think we know that we’re going to have to play really well to beat (Cleveland). Our defense is going to have to be what it was in this series, if not better, and our offense is going to have to be a lot better. They’re a great team. They have a lot of individual talent. It’s a big challenge for us."

Personnel-wise, the Hawks are largely as they were. DeMarre Carroll was the only significant subtraction. Everyone else, from their familiar core of Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Korver, to their role players is essentially unchanged. In Carroll’s place on the wing they elevated Kent Bazemore to the starting lineup and welcomed back Sefolosha. Their task will be trying to contain LeBron, who continued to run roughshod over the Hawks during the regular season.

Without Sefolosha, and with a knee injury limiting Carroll, Bazemore was thrown headfirst into the fray last season and Bazemore played as Bazemore does. He’s more seasoned now, which isn’t to say that he has changed. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious and add a layer of unpredictability for a Hawks team that generally plays things straight. He has come a long way, from the excitable reserve he was last season to a starting lineup mainstay.

"When you face LeBron in a series for the first time, it’s like a wow factor," Bazemore said. "You see him during the season three or four times, but when you've got to see him every night, every day, in back-to-back games, he’s a different beast. He’s a load. Last year, we got that out of the way, so I think we are ready to get out there."

On paper, the matchups do not favor Atlanta, although they are intriguing. Teague is one of the league’s better point guards, if not a tick below Irving’s All-Star level. Millsap has had a fantastic season and his matchup with the more-heralded Love will demand attention. In Horford, the Hawks have a skilled big man who can stretch the floor to counter Cleveland’s interior size. And Korver and J.R. Smith are two of the league’s premier long-distance shooters, both capable of shooting their teams back into any game on a nightly basis.

That was all true last year and none of it mattered in the final outcome. The Cavs controlled the boards, they dictated the pace and were superior in every aspect of the game. But if the Hawks proved anything in their first round series against the Celtics, it’s that they are not to be taken lightly. They may not wow you, they may make things hard on themselves at times with inexplicable bouts of inconsistent shooting, but they can still beat you in a number of different ways.

Their defense may not be filled with game-changing shotblockers or lockdown defenders in the traditional sense, but few teams execute their gameplans and assignments better. They don’t rely on any one player offensively, but they have enough players of varying skillsets throughout the roster that anyone can pose a problem on any given night. If it wasn’t Millsap going for 45 in Game 4, it was Korver getting hot in Game 5. In Game 6 it was Horford who shook loose during a decisive third quarter. Atlanta simply had too many options for the Celtics to contain.

"Good players, skill and speed at five positions," is how Celtics coach Brad Stevens put it. "That’s the way the game is played in a lot of ways now and it puts you in a tough spot."

A word or two about these Celtics. They have been called gritty overachievers for so long that people have lost sight of their true characteristics. While they played hard and played together, the Celtics more or less achieved what they should have this season. Several analytic models had them hovering around the 48-win mark coming into the season, which they hit, and many people believed that with the right matchup they could have had a deeper and more pleasant postseason experience.

The Hawks weren’t that matchup. They had too many shooting threats, too much size and too good a defensive scheme that rightly focused on containing Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics’ one true scoring threat. The Hawks were simply better and if not for some vintage Game 4 Garden weirdness, they could have taken this series in five games. The injuries to Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk didn’t help matters, but that’s been known to happen this time of year. Just ask the Hawks.

Regardless of who the Celtics drew in the first round, this was not a team that was going to contend for a championship because they were not constructed to compete for a championship. Rather than rebuild completely or spend wildly for short-term gain, team President Danny Ainge and his front office staff are trying to navigate a third way back to the top. In doing so they have become competitive without surrendering their prized assets or wasting their cap space. The goal is to not only have the means to acquire star talent, but also to create the kind of environment that attracts players of that caliber.

These are not novel thoughts. Everyone in the league knows this, from the free agents they will try to engage (yes, that includes Kevin Durant) to the teams they will try to deal with in pursuit of quality players in trades. What comes next is truly the hardest part of their process. They know this too. They are straddling the line between being in an enviable position for the future and being relegated to the league’s middle class. Neither are bad places to be, but after three years of steady growth it’s time to evolve yet again.

"People have told me all along there’s two really tough tasks," Stevens said after being eliminated. "One is getting to be a very good, competitive team at a top 10-15 level on offense and defense and give yourself a chance to be in the discussion we’re in now. And that’s been a path in the last three years to get there. And the next one is tough. And that’s been communicated before to me and we’re learning a lot. We learned a lot through this playoff series, but one of the things that I learned is we’ve got to get better."

Stevens wasn’t talking about the Hawks, of course, but he could have been. In some ways, they represent are a truer benchmark for the Celtics and the vast majority of would-be contenders than the elite teams out West and in Cleveland. They are proof that you can be a competitive, viable team without a transcendent superstar to carry the weight. What they have are quality players who have improved organically over the course of their tenure in Atlanta. Those players are better than what the Celtics have at the moment and better than a lot of other teams, as well.

These Hawks are good. Real good. They are about to find out just how good they truly are, but they have the comfort of knowing that they enter this rematch whole. This is their chance at redemption, yes, but also a chance to really show who they are on the game’s biggest stage.

End of the road

Good riddance to the Rockets. Tom Ziller will not miss you and neither will anyone else.

The injury bug

The West is suddenly wide open, so Ziller and I discussed the injury ramifications of Steph Curry and Chris Paul while getting excited for ThunderSpurs.

All by myself

Excellent Tim Cato piece on the loneliness of Dirk Nowitzki’s run with the Mavericks.

Roll the dice

It’s time to get familiar with this year’s draft prospects, which means it’s time for Kevin O’Connor’s excellent breakdowns. Here’s his look at Marquese Chriss, who is a boom-or-bust project.

The recruiting circus

Speaking of prospects, Ricky O’Donnell tells us about DeAndre Ayton, a gifted 7-footer who is curiously only being recruited by one school.

CLEVELAND -- It was Ty Lue’s birthday on Tuesday and for those of us old enough to remember him as a player there was a moment of recognition of our own encroaching middle age. With his cherubic face and easy athletic grace, Lue still looks the part of a point guard. But he’s 39 years old now and the faint whispers of gray reveal his professional path. "I dye mine gray," he joked, running his hand through his closely-cropped hair. "My Barack Obama look."

Lue has been a coach for only a few years and a head coach for barely a few months, but he’s taken to the job like a lifer. There are plenty of early signs to indicate that he may become a really good one, if he’s not already. Certainly the Cleveland Cavaliers have bet big on that being the case. Lue’s predecessor David Blatt had taken the Cavs to Game 6 of the Finals with an injury-ravaged roster that had been revamped at the trade deadline. When Blatt was fired in late January, the Cavs were 30-11 and comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference.

The reasons for the dismissal have been well-documented. Blatt was hired to develop a team of young talent, not one with LeBron James and immediate designs on a championship. Their relationship was tenuous from the beginning and never really evolved. Any team with LeBron on its roster will have more than its share of tension and scrutiny, and Blatt didn’t help himself by being needlessly antagonistic with the press corps that covered the team. It was an unfair position for a decorated veteran coach of international competition to make his NBA debut, but this is an unfair business.

Blatt’s firing may have been a surprise, but Lue’s promotion to the big chair was not. League observers have been talking about his coaching potential from the moment he ended his career and took his place behind the Celtics bench under Doc Rivers. Those who have worked with him previously rave about his communication skills, sharp eye and upbeat approach. As one former colleague put it, "He isn’t afraid to tell a player the truth."

Lue’s confident in the way that people who truly know themselves are confident. That manifests itself in a natural charisma that translates well to his players.

"He’s never changed from the time he was an assistant to now in terms of his demeanor," Cavs GM David Griffin told me. "The moment’s never been too big for him. He’s been consistent and guys respect that."

James reinforced that notion following Cleveland’s Game 1 victory over Atlanta in the conference semifinals. The Cavs had built a big lead that evaporated in the second half after Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder got hot. The Cavs’ scheme essentially dared Schroder to beat them from the outside and he was doing just that. Lue stayed calm, his players responded and they walked away with an 11-point win.

"We have an even keel mentality starting with our head coach," James said after the game. "He’s the same way no matter the point in the game. When we mess up, he gets on us. He’s always saying, ‘OK let’s just move on to the next possession. Let’s figure out a way how we can be better on the next possession.’ No matter the point or score of the game he’s always the same way. It’s a calm feeling when you come come to the sideline no matter if you’re giving up a lead or not."

Comparisons to Blatt are inevitable and it doesn’t take much to read between the lines. It’s a no-win situation for Lue, who has gone out of his way to downplay that dynamic. He doesn’t want to be viewed as the guy who stepped over someone, to the point where ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Lue still hasn’t signed a new contract befitting his promotion. Still, this is the opportunity of a lifetime and he’d be foolish to be someone he’s not for the sake of appearances. His approach, which Lue said he learned from playing for Phil Jackson, has served him well.

"When you’re calm and you’re not complaining, you’re not rattled, that carries over to your team," Lue said. "If you react to every single call, to every single shot or every single turnover it doesn’t give your team confidence. I think being even-keeled, being poised, and staying with it, being positive with the guys, I think that’s best approach. Playing the game myself for 11 years I’ve seen how guys react to certain situations and I think it’s the best way to coach."

One shouldn’t confuse calmness with passivity. Lue has held LeBron accountable, both publically and privately, and those around the team say this is exactly what James wanted from his coach. If it was a test, Lue passed, but there is far more to coaching than developing relationships and setting boundaries.

Following a period of transition and adjustment during the regular season, Lue has made several key tactical decisions during the playoffs. He elevated Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup and tightened up his rotations, deploying more smallball lineups. He also made Kevin Love a featured part of the offense by playing through him in the post. Those strategies have integrated Love more fully into the offensive flow and unlocked what appears to be staggering offensive potential.

"They’re still huge. LeBron is as big as a four-man so it’s not like they’re losing that much size," Atlanta’s Kyle Korver told me before Game 1. "They obviously have a lot of shooting. It just gives Kyrie and LeBron more driving lanes. They’re a great drive and kick team. They’re very efficient around the basket and they’re very efficient from three. When you go small it’s harder to double, it’s harder to help because you’re worried about giving up 3-point shooting."

Korver’s remarks proved prescient a few days later when the Cavs’ 3-point shooting devastated the Hawks in a Game 2 rout featuring an NBA-record 25 made 3-pointers. Some of those threes were a byproduct of J.R. Smith’s uncanny knack for making absurd shots look normal. Many of them came from the simple tenets of ball movement, unselfish play and the confidence to knock down shots.

"We’re making the right play," Lue said. "When Kevin posts up and they double team we make the right pass out of the double team. Swing, swing, shot."

The Cavs’ are getting 60 percent of their makes off assists, an uptick from the regular season, and their turnovers are way down. Those are positive signs of trust and belief in one another. As Lue put it, "If they’re open, the guy that’s open knows he’s going to get the basketball. It’s fun to play that way."

Fun isn’t a word that hasn’t been thrown around all that much with the Cavs since LeBron came back. Tense is more like it. Edgy is another. But here they were on Wednesday night in Cleveland, knocking down shot after shot and having the time of their lives. They were having so much fun destroying the Hawks that a couple of Atlanta players, notably Paul Millsap, said they were bothered by their pursuit of the 3-point record. (Lue had his starters on the bench during the fourth quarter and noted in his postgame remarks that he didn’t care for the way the reserves were hunting shots.)

As Cav controversies go, this one merits barely any attention. There always has to be something and if blowing out their opponents is their biggest problem, then there really isn’t any problem at all. The bottom line is they made a very good Atlanta team look downright ordinary and if that bothers the Hawks, perhaps they shouldn’t have been two steps behind the action all night.

"I think we’re playing with appropriate fear," Griffin told me between Games 1 and 2. "I think we’re playing like we’re focused. Guys are just focused and playing together and for each other, which is good."

Fear is another word rarely featured in the Cavs’ lexicon, but playing with appropriate fear is an apt phrase for this team. They have achieved so much, so fast, but in their world they haven’t really achieved anything at all. Everything they’ve accomplished has been expected. That’s the burden and the blessing of employing LeBron James. Those accomplishments weren’t enough to save Blatt’s job and they haven’t been enough to satisfy the city’s thirst for a championship. There’s a lot riding on this postseason, but the Cavs seem more focused on the tasks at hand.

"There’s no reason to look ahead," LeBron said pointedly after the Game 2 romp when asked if they were sending a message to the rest of the league. "Tomorrow’s not promised. For our team we’re still a young group. Let’s not get this mistaken. We’re still a young group. We just got put together last year and then put together again toward the All-Star break. We don’t have enough games played in pressure situations for us to ever lose focus on what the main thing is and that’s to play the next game. We can’t afford it. We don’t have the experience of San Antonio and Golden State and OKC. We don’t have that. So we have to understand to be in the moment."

The moment came again in Game 3 on Friday when the Hawks built a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. Lue called on Channing Frye to put another shooter on the floor to beat Atlanta’s traps and Frye went for 27 points. It was Cleveland’s version of the Lineup of Death and it was overwhelming. The moment for Tyronn Lue as a head coach is here, and he’s rewarding the faith the Cavs showed in him.

From Downtown

Fascinating deep dive into Kobe Bryant’s Angeleno legacy from Tyler Tynes.

Ice cold

Larry Bird’s firing of Frank Vogel was merciless, writes Seth Rosenthal. That’s very Larry Bird.

Is there room for Mike D.?

Mike D’Antoni is making the coaching interview circuit again, and Tom Ziller wonders if he can recreate the success he had in Phoenix in a league that’s now dominated by his offense.

Loud like Timothe

There will be a heavy international presence in this year’s draft and Timothe Luwawu is one of the more intriguing prospects. Kevin O’Connor gets you familiar with the French wing.

Whatever you like

Klay Thompson has picked up the scoring slack for Golden State without Steph Curry, and as Zito Madu writes, Klay is adept at being whatever the Warriors need him to be.

CHICAGO -- There were two main questions worth asking at the annual pre-draft combine this season. The first was who goes No. 1: Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram? The other: What happens after that? The combine provided clear answers for neither.

Simmons wasn’t in attendance and several of the top prospects like Ingram, Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray skipped the media portion and were only in town for individual interviews with teams. Dragan Bender and other international players were not able to come to the event because their teams are still playing. As has been the case in recent years, the combine is as much a central meeting place for teams to conduct interviews, agents to make their rounds and reporters to work the after-hours hotel lobby scene as it is a venue for talent appraisal.

On the first question, opinion was mostly divided between the long and smooth Ingram and the multi-dimensional Simmons. Interestingly, those who felt there wasn’t much of a choice at all leaned Ingram, while those who viewed it as a toss-up nodded toward Simmons. Still, most felt it was close. As one talent evaluator put it, "It’s one of those where you get in a room and debate."

Ingram is the better shooter, by far. He’s longer and seems likely to grow into his ultra-thin frame. (How could he not?) He played well in several big games and played even better down the stretch of the season when Duke made its annual postseason push in what was arguably the country’s best conference. At 18, he’s also younger than Simmons by more than a year and is also one of the youngest prospects in the entire draft. One can look at Ingram and visualize all kinds of special things in the future.

Simmons has been defined as much by what he can’t do in recent months as by all the positive things that he has shown. He’s not a good outside shooter and he’s not that long, which admittedly are two very important things in today’s game. The most troubling aspect of the Simmons report is that his LSU team cratered down the stretch, failing to make the tournament despite playing in a less-than-stellar SEC.

Still, Simmons has his supporters. The shot is a problem, but that can be developed with additional time in the gym. His college team lost a couple of key contributors that made it a collective failure, rather than the sole fault of a teenager. And he is an exceptional ballhandler and playmaker, drawing comparisons to Lamar Odom who was also frustrating at times but became one of the great all-around forces of his era.

In many ways Ingram is the safer pick, particularly for teams who already have a big man on their roster who needs the ball in his hands. Shooters shoot and Ingram’s skillset translates across a wider swath of team needs. Yet, Simmons has been knocked around for so long that it’s worth remembering the sensational displays that marked his early-season work at LSU. The question of Ingram v. Simmons was not in any way solved at the combine and the lottery drawing will provide some clarity here.

As for the other question -- what happens after the top two players are gone -- the general consensus is that there’s a significant drop-off behind Ingram and Simmons, but there’s decent depth spread out through the middle and latter parts of the draft. That’s good if you have a mid-to-late-round pick, or multiple second rounders. It’s not so hot if you’re stuck in the middle of the lottery.

It feels like we say that every year and every year players like Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Rudy Gobert slip through the cracks and wind up making huge impacts. Even in the best of years the draft is an inexact science. One only needs to scroll through recent years to find gems that were hidden in plain sight. For every lottery disappointment, there were the likes of Draymond Green, Chandler Parsons and Isaiah Thomas just waiting for the right opportunity.

As always, teams will fall in love with certain players and the draft talent will take on added luster as we get closer to June 23rd. One of those players may be Jaylen Brown, a one-and-done prospect from Cal by way of Georgia who brings a pro body and an advanced mind. A highly-touted recruit, Brown’s interests at Berkeley included playing chess and taking graduate-level courses. As someone who worked with him said, "He’s a guy that’s going to use basketball to do great things in life."

"I knew there was something special about Berkeley when I got there but I was sure when I took my first class," Brown said. "The stuff I took from Berkeley I’ll take with me for the rest of my life. The things I learned in those classrooms and the relationships I built with those professors was tremendous. I still have all of them on contact and in email and they talk to me throughout this process. They’re proud of me for the decision I made, so that’s big."

It’s beyond dumb that having varied interests outside the game is thought of as a red flag, but Brown is a bit of a polarizing prospect. What some see as intellect others views as arrogance.

On the court, he is far from a finished product. The analytics are not in his favor and he wasn’t as dominant at Cal as his high school hype indicated. He struggled with his shot, making less than 30 percent of his 3-pointers, and didn’t settle into a groove until later in the season. He was able to get to the basket consistently, but he made only 65 percent of his free throws. Brown did solidify his place in the first round with a strong February and he played a major role in helping the Bears reach the tournament.

Cal was an odd team, however. The roster was filled with future pros but without enough shooting and spacing to make it a cohesive whole. Brown wound up doing a little bit of everything, even filling in at the point and showed himself to be a decent passer and playmaker. He’s probably more of a forward than a guard, but if positional versatility is the mantra of the modern game, Brown says that he is a willing participant.

"I’m just a basketball player," Brown said. "I’ll play one through four. I can handle the ball, I think I’m strong enough to guard somebody down low. I consider myself a basketball player."

Brown said that he’s emulated Kobe Bryant’s early-morning workout routine and he counts as his mentors Isiah Thomas and former Cal great Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who also hailed from Marietta, Ga. Given his academic pursuits, Brown considered staying in school, but added, "I thought it would be a ridiculous to turn down a decision like this."

He’s likely to go in the top 10 although there are some teams that have rated much lower in the first round. Brown himself threw out "1-to-10" which raised a few eyebrows, but what was he supposed to say?

He’s drawn comparisons to Stanley Johnson, another one-and-done player from the Pac-12 who carved out a rotation role as a rookie for the Pistons. Like Johnson, the physical tools are there and like Johnson, his game needs some refinement. Johnson also had a high opinion of himself at last year’s combine declaring himself the best player in the draft. But he earned the trust of Stan Van Gundy who raved about the rookie’s confidence and Johnson has already begun to make a name for himself.

"I can see where we have similar body types but I think we have a little bit of a different game.," Brown said. "I think we do some of the things the same, but that’s my big bro. Any time somebody compares me to him it’s all love."

If Brown’s shot and feel improves, it’s not hard to project a long career. If all that comes together he might wind up as one of the better players in the draft. Like everyone else in this draft there are qualifiers to every projection and Brown may have the most questions next to his name. The real work for Brown and other players will take place over the next month when teams conduct individual workouts.

If we learned anything at the combine it’s that the draft order will be fluid after the first two stops and with that may come a flurry of trade activity. The Nuggets, Suns, 76ers and Celtics all have multiple first round selections and new Philly GM Bryan Colangelo told reporters that he’s open to dealing a top-5 pick. The draft may be weak, but that doesn’t mean it will lack for intrigue.

Old Man Riverwalk

The end comes for all of us eventually, even Tim Duncan. Tom Ziller on how the ageless wonder has aged rapidly before our eyes this season.

The carousel never stops spinning

The coaching carousel keeps getting interesting so Ziller and I went back and forth again on Dave Joerger, Frank Vogel, et al.

Try to understand

Bonus Ziller on the essential everything of Russell Westbrook.

Passing the test

Interesting perspective on Billy Donovan’s coaching from Tim Cato. Billy D has taken a ton of criticism this season but his tactics paid off in OKC’s series with the Spurs.

Not Dunn Yet

Tremendous look at Kris Dunn, who has been through hell and back to become a top draft prospect. Ricky O’Donnell has the story.

OAKLAND -- It’s supposed to be hard to win a championship. That was the message that Warriors coach Steve Kerr kept delivering after a Game 1 loss in the Western Conference Finals. Losing the opening game of a series at home may have been uncharted territory for these Warriors, but Kerr had been through just about every possible situation during his days as a player.

There was the one in 1999 when the Spurs lost a home game to the Knicks or maybe it was 2003 when they dropped one to the Nets. (It was 2003, for the record.) When you experience five championships like Kerr did as a member of the Bulls and Spurs they all blend together into a single coherent memory: This is hard. It’s supposed to be hard. Life with the Warriors has only seemed easy and carefree.

Winning 73 regular season games comes with a unique set of expectations, one of which is that you’re supposed to be perfect and that’s the opposite of what this Warriors team is at its core. They are not a juggernaut in the traditional sense of overwhelming physical stature or supernatural athleticism. That’s a significant reason why old-timers have such a hard time accepting their accomplishments as anything more than just an odd blip in the NBA’s evolutionary cycle.

Even when they win, the Warriors can appear quite ragged. They can be careless with the ball and they do slip on defense even in the best of times. It’s almost like they need a few degrees of difficulty to reach their exalted level. That’s part of their charm and a huge reason why they are so endlessly fascinating. It also must drive Kerr just a little bit insane.

Their losses, and each one feels significant because there have only been a dozen, have fit into three overlapping categories: the schedule, a key injury and/or boredom. They were obviously not bored in Game 1. They had ample time to rest and a full complement of players. They simply didn’t play well, especially down the stretch when they couldn’t get out of their own way offensively. The great Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group has a theory that it’s only time to panic if the Warriors lose when they play up to their standards, which has really not happened yet at all this season.

So while there was no need to panic, what made their Game 1 loss to Oklahoma City so jarring was that the Golden State couldn’t get away with its imperfections. That’s mainly due to the fact that OKC has a pair of superstars who can transcend any moment. Kevin Durant missed a ton of shots but made the key bucket in the closing minute, while Russell Westbrook shook off a terrible first half with a sublime second half performance.

By their very presence, KD and Russ make the Thunder just as scary as the Warriors, albeit for completely different reasons. Collectively, Golden State can run you right off the court at any moment. Russ and KD can each do that on their own without the benefit of flow or rhythm. That’s what makes this such a compelling matchup.

In the time between games, the Warriors pointed to their success in rallying from 2-1 series deficits with statement wins on the road. They smiled and said this was going to be fun, but here they were in a must-win Game 2 in front of their home crowd and it must be said that Oracle wasn’t its usual raucous self.

Nervous is probably the wrong word to use here, but confident isn’t right either. Cautiously expectant. Okay, that works. Oracle was waiting for the Dubs to be the Dubs again and all the while Durant was going off. It wasn’t doubt creeping in, just the realization that this whole thing is going to be really difficult to pull off again. Great teams win championships, but historic teams win multiple titles and that’s where the Warriors find themselves, trapped in the most enviable of circumstances with no other acceptable outcome.

Then in the third quarter, Steph Curry shook free for a 3-pointer for his first points since the opening quarter. The crowd exhaled. Curry thought he was fouled on the next possession and he seemed agitated. The ball kicked around and suddenly found its way back into his hands where he lined up another 3 with Durant closing. KD made contact sending Curry to the line where he made all of his free throws. Durant earned a tech, which gave him another.

Curry kept getting loose and he kept knocking down shots. Three points became seven and seven became 10 and before you knew it, Curry had scored 15 points in less than two minutes. For all intents and purposes, that two-minute barrage won the game and evened the series. It was as shocking as it was completely expected, which may be the most amazing thing of all. As Festus Ezeli so memorably put it, "Steph gonna Steph."

What stood out to Kerr about the outburst? "Nothing. This is what he does."

Later, I asked a member of the team’s front office if he could remember a time when Curry scored 15 points in less than two minutes. Sure, he said nonchalantly. Maybe not that exact scenario but everyone around here has witnessed Curry do so many sensational things that his periodic flights of immortality have passed from legend to routine.

We expect to see things we’ve never seen before when we watch the Warriors. We expect Curry to shoot the lights out, even with a lump the size of a golf ball on his elbow and a string of injuries that kept him out of the lineup for several playoff games. We expect the undersized Draymond Green to play center and bang heads with a bunch of 7-footers while serving as a playmaker on offense. We expect 34-year-old Andre Iguodala to cool off the best players in the game, no matter how much size or athleticism he may be surrendering in the matchup. (Klay Thompson, meanwhile, just keeps cranking shots. He may be the most ordinary member of the Warriors core, even if his talent is anything but mundane.)

When genius is not only the norm, but also a necessity, then life will be hard for the Warriors. Kerr suggested that the MVP is still not 100 percent, although there are no minutes restrictions. Golden State’s ability to downsize with its killer death lineup is the ultimate ace in the hole. Yet Kerr has been reluctant to use it all that much, given the physical demands it places on Green and that one of OKC’s strengths is its dominance on the offensive glass. The spectre of Westbrook and Durant loom ominously over everything.

Kerr was fortunate that Game 2 became such a rout because other than a brief Lineup of Death appearance in the first quarter he was able to keep a big man on the floor throughout most of the game. The Warriors did break out one of their other patented tactics, which was straight up ignoring Andre Roberson. That allowed Green to patrol the middle of the court and it gummed up the works for a while.

The Warriors’ gameplans are ruthless and flat-out mean. They find the weak link and attack it relentlessly, whether it’s Roberson’s lack of shooting or Enes Kanter’s defensive issues. With three days between games they will have had ample time to prepare something new and dastardly, just as OKC coach Billy Donovan has enough time to counter. There is no gameplan for being great, however. That just comes with the territory for both teams and will ultimately decide this series.

Realistically, Golden State has to win one of these next two games on the road in one of the toughest environments in the league. The Warriors know that and they’re confident in their ability to handle the assignment. This is fun for them, but they also know that it will be hard. It always is this time of season, no matter how routine they make the extraordinary look.

Now that the lottery is behind us, here are five key takeaways from the event and what lies ahead.

This was not a validation of Sam Hinkie: Getting the first pick in the draft was always about math. The more chances you have, the more likely you are to be rewarded. Hitting the lottery was only one part of Hinkie’s plan, albeit a significant one. The rest involved scouting, drafting and roster building, all the things that kept getting kicked down the line in pursuit of better draft positioning. So yes, that part of the process "worked," but it also worked in prior seasons when the Sixers had top-3 selections. You still need to pick the right guy.

The second pick is not better than the first: There’s a notion that in a two-player draft you want to pick second because then there is less pressure on your selection. You simply take the next player and defer to the basketball gods. Unless you think that one player is significantly better than the other and then you are at someone else’s mercy. Still, it’s far better to be second than third ...

There will be trades: It’s not a secret that the Celtics will be looking to deal out of this draft for established players, but they are only one team of many with multiple picks. The Suns and 76ers also have three first-rounders and the Nuggets have a pair of selections in the top-15 of the first round. This draft is said to be deep in the middle and latter parts of the first rounds so for teams with their eyes on specific players there will be opportunity to move around.

Jaylen Brown is still the most interesting prospect: We devoted significant Shootaround space to the Cal forward last week and his story has only become more intriguing with the report that he will forego representation on his first contract. Agents don’t do much contract negotiating for first-round picks, but they do help steer the process and guide their players through the maze of workouts, promises and innuendo. Brown’s a really smart kid who is choosing an unconventional route. Hope it works out for him.

Masai Ujiri robbed the Knicks twice for the same pick: In the winter of 2011, then-Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri orchestrated a massive trade of Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks that included a pick swap due this season. That allowed the Nuggets to move up two spots from ninth to seventh. In the summer of 2013, Ujiri traded the immortal Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks in a deal that hilariously included a first round pick that is also due this season (that would be the ninth selection). Raise a glass to Masai for the coup and remember to always call the Knicks.

OAKLAND -- Here’s a mildly bold statement: Draymond Green was the best player on the floor in Game 1 of the Finals. While Green didn’t offer the gaudy shooting numbers of reserve hero Shaun Livingston and he didn’t draw the primetime defensive assignment against LeBron James like Andre Iguodala, Green had the largest impact on the outcome. His numbers were strong: 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, but they too went largely unnoticed.

What Green did in Game 1 is what Green does. Much has been made of his playmaking role -- he’s a kind of Anthony Mason point forward for the modern age -- but it’s on defense where he made his name and it’s on defense where he showed up huge in the opener. That was particularly true in the smallball death lineup where his work was stellar.

"Usually in the small lineup I’m the rim protector," Green said. "That’s also being the guy who’s vocal talking to everyone because I’m usually the last line of the defense. Sometimes that means switching out on the guards. It also means holding the paint down and coming up with rebounds."

And yeah, Green did all of that. Not only did he hold his own on the boards, he also challenged shots at the rim, offered help on LeBron James post-ups and isolations and raced back to chase shooters off the 3-point line. He was a prime reason why the Cavaliers missed 28 attempts in the paint and shot just 33 percent from behind the arc. There are very few players who can do what he does.

Side note: The smallball lineup machinations are the best tactical subplot of this series and the Cavs have a decision to make. There are two schools of thought here. One is to try and match Golden State with speed and skill and the other is to essentially try and make them pay for going small by pounding them with size. The Cavs did that a bit last season in the Finals but couldn’t sustain it. Timofey Mozgov has been a non-factor during the postseason, which may also play a part in Ty Lue’s thinking. Other teams have also tried this tactic to little avail, but size does play a part in Golden State’s thinking.

"It’s really physically draining to guard bigger people," assistant coach Luke Walton said. "If it’s a true center we don’t want to do it for too long because Draymond’s already playing 40 minutes as it is. If we have him wrestling with someone bigger than he is for a lot of the time we’re wearing him down too much. We know how potent our small lineup is, but we try to use it in spurts to take advantage of them."

The Cavs came into this series with a possible antidote, that being Channing Frye, a stretch five who lit up the postseason with his long-range shooting. The Warriors had a plan for that and here again Green was an integral component of another undersized unit, the one that took the court at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters. Green effectively chased Frye off the court. How the Cavs decide to attack that lineup will go a long way toward defining this series. That’s what having a player like Draymond Green does to opponents.

His Game 1 performance was the kind of all-around performance for which he first made his name and in that it wasn’t much of a surprise. His play in last year’s Finals helped turn the series around and the Cavs offer a more different if not more favorable matchup for Green than, say, Oklahoma City with its length and athleticism. If Golden State is going to repeat as champs, the Warriors are going to need their situational superstar to control the situation. Even if his work is less noticeable.

Staying under the radar is a good place for Green to be these days because there isn’t a media availability that goes by without someone bringing up The Thing from the last round. At this point it’s more like an accumulation of things: the leg-kick, the technical fouls, the takedown, et cetera et cetera. If he accrues one more flagrant foul he’s subject to an automatic one-game suspension. If Green picks up two more techs, the same penalty applies. He’s essentially on probation and everyone knows it.

"I don’t worry about those things," Green said. "Whatever happens is going to happen. I got a big enough task with the Cleveland Cavaliers and all the guys I have to check and the things I have to do on the offensive end to focus on, rather than focus on that."

Green’s manic energy and unhinged emotion has gotten the better of him at times, but the Warriors also need that to thrive. It’s a delicate line he needs to walk, especially for a player who possesses all the outward subtlety of a swift quick to the groin. For their part, the Warriors more or less encourage Green to be Green, within limits.

"We love it," Walton said. "Obviously sometimes it goes too far and we tell him that and he knows it. It’s good for our team, it’s good for him. It gives him his edge. But there’s times it gets the better of him. Whether that comes out in technical fouls or flagrants or him forcing up a bad shot because he’s mad, he’s got to learn to always be in control of those emotions. But the emotion he plays with, we encourage that."

Has any player gone through more revaluations and interpretations over the last few years than Draymond Green? From second-round steal to viable rotation player to situational star to legit All-Star, Green’s career has already run the gamut during his four years in the league. Now he finds himself in a slightly different position, as the face of the Warrior backlash.

Green offers no apologies and no regrets. What you see is what you get, which is part of his charm or a searing indictment, depending on how you look at it. Here’s a player who can rattle off the name of every player of chosen ahead of him in the draft. He can suss out opposing playcalls and sets with the sharp mind of one who is blessed with instant recall, which he told me in January that he has. He remembers everything and forgets nothing.

"Every player needs to motivate himself however he needs," Kerr said. "So Draymond finds any little sleight to get himself going, and that's great. He's our emotional leader. He's our slightly-crazy, gives-us-the-edge type guy that you need to compete at the highest level, and whatever he needs to do to motivate himself, he does."

That crazy edge belies an incredibly smart and attuned basketball player whose ability to read and diagnose opponents is a big part of his value both as a player and a teammate.

"People have no idea how intelligent of a basketball player he is," Walton said. "It’s really impressive. There’s plays that we bring out of the archives that we haven’t run since last year and we’re a little rusty on them and he’ll start pointing people in the right direction."

So, which Draymond Green will we see in Game 2: the one who is in control of himself and the situation at hand, or the one who lets his emotions get the better of him? The Warriors need the former and Draymond Green needs to be that player, as well. His value has never been greater and his presence has never been more needed than it is right now.

We’ve had two days to think this through so here are the five things to watch as we get ready for a pivotal Game 2 tonight at Oracle.

Play with pace: The Cavs want to play faster. That was the message that Ty Lue repeatedly reinforced over the last few days. It’s not only a matter of getting out in transition, although that’s obviously a factor. It’s also getting into sets quicker, ball movement, spacing, all the elements of a good offensive flow that were rarely apparent in the opener. To be sure, the Warriors had a lot to do with that. They only turned the ball over nine times. Golden State’s defensive strategy of switching just about everything also plays into this since it invites one-on-one opportunities, but the Cavs played right into their hands. That needs to change.

Game 2 LeBron: Much was made of LeBron’s record in Finals openers, but he’s also had an impressive streak of answers in the next games. The Warriors need no reminders given that they experienced a 39-16-11 Game 2 from James just last season. Given the offensive threats he has at his disposal this time around, the temptation to take over must be tempered by the willingness to get everyone else involved. That’s when James is at his most dangerous and that’s what the Cavs need most from their superstar.

Kyrie Irving’s floor game: The Cavs guard can get his shot whenever he wants it, but while his 26 points led all scorers in Game 1 he was hardly a model of efficiency. Too many times, Cav positions devolved into the Kyrie Show and that is a very tough way to beat Golden State. Again, a faster pace and more decisive sets are the answer.

Curry and Klay and role players redux: It’s highly unlikely that the Splash Brothers will shoot 8-for-27 again, but the Cavs deserve credit for focusing their defensive attention on the ace shooting duo. That part was good, but Golden State found the openings in the defense and exploited them time and again. That’s what makes defending the Warriors so difficult, but there were obvious breakdowns in communication that need to be rectified for the series to turn around. The opportunities are there for Green, Iguodala and Livingston to feast again. Something has to give here.

No rebounds, no rings: The Cavs grabbed 15 offensive rebounds in Game 1 and technically won the battle of the boards. But they also surrendered nine offensive rebounds and that won’t do against Golden State. This is one area they need to win decisively if they are going to have a chance at a split.

CLEVELAND -- It was early in the fourth quarter of Game 4 and the Warriors were clinging to a one-point lead. At stake was a commanding 3-1 lead in the Finals and a chance to close this series out at home, where they have been almost unbeatable for the better part of two seasons.

As he has throughout much of this series, Andre Iguodala was matched up with LeBron James on the wing. Iguodala patiently waited through a Kevin Love screen and then raced over the top just as LeBron was ready to make his move. He angled James to the baseline where help was coming from the unlikely presence of James Michael McAdoo, a 6-8 forward who hadn’t even been active for the first three games of the series.

With nowhere to go, James swung the ball back to Love who was open at the 3-point arc. Before Love could load up a shot, Iguodala dashed back to run him off the line. Instead of flying into a wild contest, Iguodala stayed low and in position. Love drove with Iguodala matching him stride for stride. LeBron was lurking on the baseline, but after sealing off Love’s drive, Iguodala recovered and defended James again, stripping the ball and leading a break the other way.

It was an incredible sequence, one of the greatest displays of individual and team defense one will ever see. It was as much a signature moment in the Warriors Game 4 victory as any of the Splash Brothers shooting heroics. We often view the Warriors through the lens of their incredible offense and incomparable shotmaking, but it’s on defense where they are winning this series. When the Warriors are at their best, one feeds into the other and they become a flying collection of unguardable wraiths all blessed with skill and savvy.

"Basketball is at its best when you have athletes in space making plays," Shane Battier said to me before Game 3. "It’s the same for soccer, you have great athletes in space making plays and that’s when the game becomes beautiful. You have spacing and skill and coaching. It’s all synergetic. You don’t have to be a basketball fan to appreciate that. You can be a person who appreciates movement. It’s almost like a ballet at that point."

This series has been a brutalist ballet. Play has been rough and physical, the kind of action that the Warriors’ critics insist they couldn’t survive in a different era and a different age. What they miss are the defensive demands of their aesthetically-pleasing offensive style. Golden State is fully capable of mucking things up and getting down in the grime when the situation calls for it. They even like it.

The Warriors are here again on the brink of a championship because they are willing and able to play the kind of defense that the moment demands. They are here because they have players like Iguodala and Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston and even McAdoo, who can defend their asses off at multiple positions. That’s the true value of their versatility: when they play on a string on one end of the floor, they can take advantage of speed and athletic mismatches on the other.

"Interchangeability and versatility unlocks so many styles of play for your team," Battier said. "It’s not the end all be all, but it helps you handle adversity so much better. It presents so many different matchup problems for the other team because they have to worry about so many different things. You can have long and athletic guys but if they’re dummies then you’re in trouble. What the Warriors have is amazing versatility, but also versatility in their basketball IQ."

No one exemplifies that more than Iguodala, a player described by those around the team as "the adult in the room." He’s their conscience, the one who Steve Kerr can point to whenever he asks for something from one of his players. Who would dare complain about shots or roles when Iguodala successfully transitioned to a reserve spot a year after signing a big free agent deal?

"We have a very unique team," Iguodala said. "We have a lot of solid basketball players. We have some really good shooters, great shooters. We have some very skilled big men. We have some skilled wing players who can play multiple positions, and I just happen to be one of the guys that can try to fulfill any void a team needs on any given night."

What he has done primarily during this series is defend LeBron, but Iguodala is only the main character in a much larger plot as outlined by our Mike Prada. Call it the LeBron Rules, a series of tactics and schemes that sends waves of defenders at LeBron whenever he has the ball. Their goal is to not only stop James from going off himself, but also to choke off his passing lanes and force the Cavs into a stagnant series of one-on-one isolation plays.

Outside of Game 3 when they were curiously absent, the Warriors have turned in a dominating defensive performance during the Finals. The key configuration in this has been the Lineup of Death and the Cavs have yet to find an effective counter. Their offense-heavy answer couldn’t keep up defensively and having multiple weak defenders on the floor plays right into Golden State’s hands.

"That’s a lineup that keeps coaches up at night thinking, ‘How can I defend that and what lineups do I play against that?’" Battier said. "It’s proven to be an unsolvable riddle."

Used judiciously by Kerr throughout the Finals, it’s been 14 points better per 100 possessions than the Cavs. Part of Kerr’s reasoning for rationing their minutes is a fear of getting pounded on the offensive glass and the Cavs have feasted at times on the boards. Another factor is the physical demands it places on players like Iguodala, Barnes and Green. Few know better than Battier what that entails. One of the great role players of the modern era, he won two titles with the Heat playing out of position at power forward. It was a job he took on willingly and one that aided LeBron in pursuit of his Finals breakthrough.

"You have to be willing to take the punishment and that’s what I did," Battier said. "I knew for us to be at our best that LeBron couldn’t exhaust himself, fatigue himself, by banging with David West and LaMarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph and Carlos Boozer. That’s probably one of the reasons why I retired before I could have but I took a lot of punishment physically to keep my guys fresh. But it was in the name of sacrifice for the team and judging by the success we had I think it was worth it."

What used to be viewed as glamourless grunt work has gained cache in recent years. A few weeks earlier at the annual draft combine in Chicago, player after player spoke about their versatility and their willingness to defend multiple positions. We will always have point guards and bigs, but today’s players are unencumbered by arbitrary labels. As Kerr put it, "Guys who used to be dismissed as tweeners are now celebrated as positionless players."

Battier hears that and smiles.

"When I first came in the league you were slotted into a position and you did what you were slotted to do and there wasn’t much room to expand your role," he said. "Today’s game with the offensive schemes and the defensive schemes, it really allows to have a lot more creativity as a basketball player."

The Warriors are the revolution realized. Look up and down their roster and you will see players who at one time or another or in different situation would have slipped through the cracks and had their contributions minimized. Curry isn’t really a point guard. Green is an undersized four who plays center. Even Barnes, a prototypical wing on paper, has been a force as a smallball four. Iguodala is merely the epitome of all those experiences.

They have thrived because of their talents and a smart coaching staff that recognized their diverse abilities and turned them into an unguardable strength. Their style is beautiful and balletic, but their substance is found in their commitment to defense and it’s their defense that has them on the brink of defending their championship.

We’re facing an elimination game and there is still no consensus for Finals MVP. Here’s the working shortlist heading into Game 5.

Draymond Green: I’ve gone back and forth between Green and Andre Iguodala and I give Dray the slight nod because of his offense in Game 2 and his terrific all-around performance in Game 1 when he went for 16-11-8. Green has been locked in defensively throughout the series and there is no Death Lineup without Draymond at the five. Of course if he gets suspended, then all bets are off.

Andre Iguodala: I’ve had a handful of philosophical disagreements with smart basketball people who favored Iggy and I can see their point. As friend of the Shootaround John Schuhmann noted, at +54 Iguodala is far and away the plus/minus leader through four games. We need contextual stats to dig into Iguodala’s value because the counting numbers don’t capture it all. We also need the eye test to observe all the times he’s made the pass that makes the pass and then executed a flawless switch on the other end. There’s no argument from me if he wins again.

Steph Curry: The two-time MVP finally went off in Game 4 and now that his numbers (21-5-5, .613 True Shooting Percentage) have stabilized there’s a renewed groundswell of support for his candidacy. If he shoots the lights out again in Game 5, you can bet he will receive serious consideration. Curry’s impact goes far beyond his own stats. He’s a big reason why Shaun Livingston (Game 1) and Green (Game 2) had their huge scoring nights earlier in the series. What downgrades Steph’s chances has been his wandering defensive effort.

LeBron James: James is averaging 25 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists and it’s still not enough to win this series or quiet his critics. Expectations for him have always been off the charts but we’re coming to a point where we have to contextualize his performance with his advancing age. Can LeBron still carry to a team to the Finals? Obviously. Can he carry this team to a championship? That is less sure and it might be time for the Cavs to remake this team to complement the next phase of his career.

Klay Thompson: The other Splash Brother has been solid on both ends of the floor, although he has yet to have a one of those transcendent shooting nights. Just as the attention on Curry spreads the offensive wealth around, so too does the presence of Thompson aid the Warriors’ other players. Kyrie Irving has the edge in counting numbers, but much of his production is a byproduct of Golden State’s brilliant defensive scheme that practically invites him to go one-on-one.

OAKLAND -- The remarkable thing about this unremarkable series of games is that the Cavaliers and Warriors have drawn dead even in both victories and on the scoreboard. Three wins apiece and 610 points a side have brought us here through six uneven contests where the final outcome has rarely been in doubt and each team’s performance has fluctuated wildly from game to game and moment to moment.

Nothing makes sense and yet, almost three weeks after we began, everything has become crystallized with one game left to decide it all. The stakes could not possibly be bigger and the lines could not be clearer.

On the one side lies validation for the Warriors’ historic season and the continuation of a burgeoning dynasty. Win tonight in Oracle and everything that’s taken place during the past week becomes mere prelude in their larger tale of dominance. Lose and they go down in infamy as the only team to ever blow a 3-1 series lead in the Finals and on their home court, no less. There is no middle ground left for the Warriors.

"It’s either win the whole thing or bust for us," Klay Thompson said. "I mean, it’s no fun getting second place. So it would be a great season, but at the same time to us, the players, we’re so competitive, we’d feel like we failed."

On the other sits LeBron James, the undisputed greatest player of his generation, who is on the cusp of doing what’s never been done and in the process delivering a championship to his title-starved home region. If he and the Cavs falter, it will be just one more gutpunch added to the litany of Cleveland sports frustrations and one more resounding L on his Finals resume.

LeBron is the reason we are still here, but nothing matters for him in the court of public opinion beyond the bottom line. That’s his burden and his alone. Not even Steph Curry, the reigning two-time MVP, lives with that kind of all-encompassing pressure and scrutiny.

"I can’t think of too many players who have put that type of pressure on themselves and then have delivered more times than not," Richard Jefferson said. "And he embraces it. It just shouldn’t go unnoticed. It should be something that’s recognized by the fans. He’s doing this for his teammates. He’s doing it for everyone, and that’s a pressure that I know I couldn’t personally handle. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him taking that on."

Hyperbole and Game 7s go hand in hand, but when you mix all of these elements into the cauldron of competition we are left with the combustible elements that bubbled over and exploded all over everyone in Game 6. From Curry’s flying mouthpiece to Steve Kerr putting the officials on blast, the normally unflappable Warriors lost their minds while LeBron cooly commanded the stage.

What a juxtaposition this has been. For the better part of two years, the Warriors have run roughshod over everyone -- James included -- laying waste to the rest of the league. Now here comes LeBron and the Cavs -- Team Drama, themselves -- who have turned the tables. How did we get here? It was just a week ago when the Warriors had this all but wrapped up, coming home with a 3-1 series lead and a chance to clinch their second straight title in front of their home crowd. And then, well ... and then things started happening.

At some point in the last year and a half, the Warriors became less of a basketball team than a vessel for whatever idea or agenda someone wanted to push. Every single thing that came up during the season, whether it was style of play, the meaningless of positions or the importance (or not) of the regular season had to be viewed through their prism.

To their supporters, the Warriors have been a triumphant mix of stylish aesthetics and analytic reasoning. Their games were sheer exhilaration to behold and their decision-making was fascinating. You could enjoy them viscerally or study their methods objectively and be satisfied with either pursuit. At their best, they are a crazy fun team that shattered every preconceived notion of what we thought was possible on a basketball court. Leads didn’t matter. Range was of no consequence. If you could dream it, the Warriors could do it.

To their detractors, they were blamed for the predominance of the 3-pointer as a tactical weapon and the cause of some horrible disease inflicted upon the nation’s youth who just want to be like Steph. (Practicing jumpers! The horror!) If you hated the influence of analytics you could blame them for that too, even though there were other more obvious targets to direct your ire. Players of generations past didn’t understand them. Older fans holding tight to their memories and current ones of vanquished foes raced to discredit them.

To be sure the Warriors invited some of this upon themselves. Joe Lacob’s "light years ahead" comment was presumptive. His team was put together with great skill and care, but like everyone else there’s a strong current of luck that runs through his franchise. The players are confident to the extreme, which can be either refreshing or annoying depending on the final score and your allegiances. At the end of the day, schadenfreude comes for all of us, especially in the world of pro sports.

It came hard for Draymond Green in Game 5, who was forced to watch from across the street in a baseball stadium. The heart and soul of the Warriors, Green’s living on the edge sensibilities sent him careening over the abyss. It wasn’t the latest nut tap that got him, it was the accumulation of all of his other antics -- body-slamming Michael Beasley at the end of a first round game, kicking Steven Adams in the groin and too many flailing limbs to count.

The Warriors were pissed that it came to this, believing that the Cavs politicked a little too hard to get Green suspended. The last week has been filled with social media outbursts and podium trash talk, but no matter. They couldn’t get it done in Oracle without their howling savant of a forward and so they had to gather themselves and fly back across the country to try to claim their title once again in their opponents’ arena.

"I have strong belief that if I play Game 5, we win," Green said before Game 6. "But I didn't because I put myself in a situation where I wasn't able to play."

The Cavs had other ideas. In the aftermath of the Green suspension, the Cavs have been quietly confident. They believe, not without justification, that this very scenario is their destiny and that it has to be this way.

While the Warriors steamed, the Cavs have been largely silent, a stance summed up by James’ declaration that he would take the high road after being informed of Thompson’s off-day comments that he had his feelings hurt. There is so much happening between the lines that it would take a team of sociologists working round the clock to suss it all out.

The Warriors are the usurpers to King James’ throne, the golden boys who took the league by storm and bypassed the traditional steps to the crown. To some, they are a little too perfect, a little too precious and preening. Until this point they have presented an unsolvable riddle that no one has been able to crack, but over the last two games James has dented their aura of inevitability and made them look all too human.

LeBron was dominant in Game 5 and masterful in Game 6. At one point he had a hand in 35 of the Cavs’ 36 points. This was James at his most resourceful, both more physically dominant and mentally sharper than everyone else on the court.

"With our season on the line, at the end of the third quarter he said, ‘I’m not coming out.’" Cavs coach Ty Lue said. "I didn’t have any intention on taking him out anyway. I don't care what y’all say. We’re going to ride him."

All around him, the Cavs have finally figured it out. From Kyrie Irving’s uncanny shotmaking to Tristan Thompson’s relentless rebounding, they have finally played like a team that is capable of supporting LeBron’s brilliance and Lue has pushed all the right buttons. It all comes back to LeBron in one way or another and through him, all things are possible.

"Special, very special," Irving said. "You try not to sit back and watch because you're trying to make sure that you create space for him and able to give him outlets when he needs it. But I mean, when a guy's got it going like that, I mean, it's just unbelievable to be a part of."

LeBron’s forceful rejection of a Curry layup late in Game 6 said everything that needed to be said, but James had a few extra words to add to the conversation in case anyone missed it. In so many words, he was telling Curry and everyone else that the league still belongs to him. James refused to be drawn into that conversation publically, but it’s there and it’s at the heart of everything that this series stands for in a larger context.

And so we are here, with one game left in the season to decide it all. As James put it, "It’s two of the greatest words in the world, and that’s ‘Game 7.’"

Game 7s are about the stars and so we expect Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Draymond Green to produce. But the spotlight shines harshly on everyone and here are five players who will be under the microscope.

Kevin Love: The Finals have been an unmitigated disaster for Love, who had been having a strong playoff run. When Richard Jefferson started in his place in Game 3 it unlocked a workable defensive counter to Golden State’s 1-4 pick-and-roll game and changed the series. Picking up two quick fouls in Game 6 was one of the best things to happen to the Cavs and Ty Lue would be completely justified in starting Jefferson in Game 7. And yet, there’s still a good player in there somewhere. It may take a change of scenery to bring that version of Kevin Love back, but he can atone for a lot of sins with a solid performance on Sunday.

Harrison Barnes: Uh dude, this is no way to go into free agency. After a reasonably solid four games, Barnes has crumpled before our eyes missing wide open shots and overthinking his way through wayward drives and blown assignments. Role players get exposed when the stars don’t perform, but Barnes has validated every single concern about his game, especially in Game 5 when he was more Jeff Green than Draymond. Barnes doesn’t have to do much, just hit a couple of open shots and play solid defense. That’s not too much to ask, right?

Tristan Thompson: His relentless rebounding and defensive activity have been a major problem for the Warriors throughout the series, forcing them to play true bigs who haven’t been able to match Thompson’s energy and athleticism. Thompson is something of a bellwether in this series. The Cavs are +30 per 100 possessions in their three wins with Thompson on the court and -22 in their losses. If Thompson is allowed to run wild and control the boards, it will be a long night for Golden State.

Andre Iguodala: In yet another side-effect of Green’s suspension, Iguodala’s back tightened up early in Game 6 and he often looked frail and hunched over. The Cavs have smartly found ways to get James into the flow, running their offense through him in favorable spots and countering Golden State’s defense. Iguodala represents the first and most important part of that strategy and if he’s physically compromised, the Warriors are in trouble. Many of us thought Iggy was the MVP through the first four games. Now, he’s just hoping to be up to the task.

Leandro Barbosa: If there’s a wild card among the deep rotation players it’s the Brazilian Blur, who has been shooting the lights out in limited action. Barbosa has been a per-minute monster and he damn near brought the Warriors back in Game 6 before LeBron took over down the stretch. Kerr trusts his bench implicitly, but it will be interesting to see how deep his rotations go and how much a role Barbosa will have in Game 7.