NBA Power Rankings, Part III: The Cool Kids' Table

Matthew Roberson | @mroberson22

We've made it, you guys. We've braved the rapids of the bottom third and waded our way through the doldrums in the middle to reach this point. The best teams are typically the most fun teams, and that is even truer after an offseason with more drama than a Sunday night on HBO. We live in a great time to be a basketball fan. Not only do maybe the greatest team and maybe the greatest player ever reside in today's NBA, there's also a new crop of young guns ready to take the torch each season. It's weird knowing that some of the guys chasing him in the East grew up idolizing LeBron. That is an undeniable truth, though, as is the fact that we now have NBA rookies who were born after Jordan's shot on Byron Russell. The cafeteria is littered with enchanting players old and young, but these ten teams make up the cool kids' table.

10. Denver Nuggets – 2016-17 record: 40-42 (9^th in West), 2016-17 net rating: -0.5 (18^th in NBA)

Additions: Paul Millsap, Trey Lyles, Tyler Lydon

Losses: Danilo Gallinari, Mike Miller

PG - Emmanuel Mudiay

SG - Gary Harris

SF - Wilson Chandler

PF - Paul Millsap

C - Nikola Jokic

G - Jamal Murray

G/F - Will Barton

F - Kenneth Faried

Welcome back to the top of the league, Denver! It may be easy to forget, but we’re not far removed from the Nuggets making 10 straight playoffs. History may gloss over that decade of Nuggets basketball, but I’ll always be fascinated by it. With Carmelo Anthony at the helm, flanked at various times by Chauncey Billups and Allen Iverson, the Nugs won 50 games in four straight years and made a conference finals. An amazing piece of Nuggets trivia: the team lost in the first round in nine of those ten playoff years, with the lone exception being a Western Conference Finals appearance. In what would be a harbinger for the rest of the NBA, the Nuggets’ reign of success was squashed by the Golden State Warriors, who upset a 57-win (!!!) Denver team in the 2013 playoffs.

50 wins might be in the cards again for Jokic & Co. I’m not sure you could find a better player from the summer’s free agent class who’s a better fit for the Nuggets than Paul Millsap, which is good because he plays for the Nuggets now. Slotting Millsap next to Jokic eases the burden on the young Serbian defensively. We all know what kind of sorcery Jokic is capable of with his passes, but Millsap quietly averaged 3+ assists per game in each of his last four seasons in Atlanta. While Millsap is certainly a very skilled offensive player, his biggest contribution to Denver will be on the other end. He is one of just five guys since 2000-2001 to record a season with at least 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, something he accomplished in 2015-16 with the Hawks. Millsap’s passing ability could spawn beautiful high-low connections with Jokic in the paint, and his savant-level defense could not have come at a better time for a team that was the second-worst defensive squad in the league last year.

The addition of Millsap should guarantee playoff basketball in Colorado this spring. The difference between being a fifth seed and an eighth seed comes down to the ancillary players on the roster. Denver can potentially go 12-deep with rotation players, making them one of the best candidates to execute a trade. Veterans Kenneth Faried and Will Barton, who have both seen either outside talent or young draft picks come in at their position, stand out as the most obvious chess pieces for GM Tim Connelly to work with. There may be a need at point guard if Emmanuel Mudiay can’t figure his shit out, as entering the Western Conference playoffs with a shaky point guard would be like entering a wolf den covered in lamb’s blood. Including Faried in some sort of package for Eric Bledsoe seems logical, and Denver could also use a hybrid forward now that Danilo Gallinari is gone. If everything goes awry in Detroit, one would think the Nuggets would do their due diligence on Tobias Harris. With Jokic and Millsap playing hot potato in the paint, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray coming along, and a coach who looks like a dejected sea captain, Denver has the pieces to be one of the NBA’s most fun teams.

Photo courtesy of Haley O'Shaughnessy/Twitter

9. Minnesota Timberwolves – 2016-17 record: 31-51, 2016-17 net rating: -1.0 (20^th in NBA)

Additions: Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, Jamal Crawford

Losses: Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine

PG - Jeff Teague

SG - Andrew Wiggins

SF - Jimmy Butler

PF - Karl-Anthony Towns

C - Gorgui Dieng

G - Jamal Crawford

F - Shabazz Muhammad

F/C - Taj Gibson

As the Minnesota legend Bob Dylan once said: the times, they are a-changin’. Who could have guessed that Dylan wrote that song in 1964 with the 2017-18 Timberwolves in mind? He truly is a visionary songwriter.

The draft night trade for Jimmy Butler immediately signaled a new age of Minnesota basketball. There have been 13 consecutive playoff parties that the Timberwolves did not get invited to, and the franchise has made it out of the first round exactly once in their history. The first step in the Timberwolves’ renaissance should be simply making the playoffs. This is an entirely doable and in no way outrageous goal, but it’s important to remember that the Wolves won just 31 games last season, meaning a playoff berth would likely take at least a 12-win improvement. Butler joining forces with his old coach Tom Thibodeau means that Minnesota should be free of its woes against bad teams. Last year, the T-Wolves skidded to a disappointing 5-9 record against bottom feeders New Orleans, Dallas, Sacramento, and the Lakers. There are many wins to be had against those teams in ’17-18.

Bringing Butler and his three All-Defensive team credentials into the fold almost automatically makes the Timberwolves better stoppers. The bar is admittedly low given Minnesota’s bottom-five defensive rating, and it’s paramount that Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins at least fake a better effort on defense this year. Scoring points is important, but here’s a little secret, preventing the other team from scoring is equally important. No one is asking these dudes to be on a mid-2000s Spurs level, but if they can finish at or below the middle of the pack defensively they should waltz into the playoffs.

Karl-Anthony Towns is a certified problem who made significant strides in scoring last year. His skillset is virtually unprecedented; the only other player 21 or younger to put together a 25 and 12 season with a 50% field goal percentage was Shaq. Add in his deft touch and a burgeoning three-point stroke and you get a generational talent. We’ll see how Minnesota’s approach to Andrew Wiggins’ contract plays out. Saying “Here’s $148 million, please don’t get content” to a 22-year-old is bold, not just monetarily but also because of the enormous amount of trust they’re putting in him. The contract feels even more queasy when you remember Wiggins is basically the third option on offense and is a train wreck on defense.

If you have any sort of reading comprehension skills, you’ve surmised that defense will be the key to unlocking a top-ten team in Minneapolis. Jeff Teague has the chance to flourish as a ballhandler in action with Towns, and he’s made over twice as many threes as his predecessor at the position did. Consummate glue guy Taj Gibson supplies the veteran presence that the Timberpups need. As long as they’re not wearing these Four Loko lookin’ jerseys, Minnesota will be one of the more enjoyable teams to watch.

8. Toronto Raptors – 2016-17 record: 51-31 (3^rd in East), 2016-17 net rating: 4.9 (4^th in NBA)

Additions: C.J. Miles, OG Anunoby, K.J. McDaniels

Losses: DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson, P.J. Tucker

PG - Kyle Lowry

SG - DeMar DeRozan

SF - C.J. Miles

PF - Serge Ibaka

C - Jonas Valanciunas

G - Norman Powell

F - OG Anunoby

C - Lucas Nogueira

The days of the Raptors being a pleasant surprise are super-duper over. Everyone knows exactly what they are and what they do, even if the team insists it’s going to finally enter the 2010s and start taking more threes. This is not to say that Toronto will not be good, barring catastrophe they should have home court advantage in their first-round playoff series. The team has made the playoffs four times in five years since Kyle Lowry showed up, and the franchise showed its gratitude by agreeing to pay him an average of $33 million per year until he turns 33.

The history of guys Lowry’s height continuing to score and shoot the three effectively into their 30s is…not great. Sure, Lowry is a massive reason for Toronto’s resurgence, and by the time this contract is up he’ll have a real claim to being the best Raptor of all time. Lowry’s career arc is encouraging, but the window is closing for a team that arguably never had real championship mettle to begin with. Take into account the fact that Cory Joseph is no longer employed here, and you have a lot of eggs in the basket of an aging, diminutive point guard coming off an injury-plagued season. It’s very likely that this team has plateaued, a fine place to be when you live in the 50-win neighborhood, but a late-career explosion from Lowry or DeMar DeRozan is needed if Toronto is going to see another conference finals.

It’s very possible that Toronto will have the worst bench in the league. Losing its two best reserves from last year in Joseph and Patrick Patterson leaves a troubling void. Norman Powell is bouncy enough to make a handful of exciting plays each time he steps on the court. But once you move past him, the seventh through tenth guys on this roster don’t exactly scream PLAY ME. The Raptors need one of OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Lucas Noguiera, Fred VanVleet, or Jakob Poeltl to shine in order for the team to make any real noise. I wouldn’t put the odds of that happening very high. Toronto was one of just three teams to finish last season in the top ten of offensive and defensive rating. Lowry, DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas could probably run an offensive set together with their eyes closed. The Raptors are your favorite uncle who’s always reliable for a sweet Christmas present and a feeling of comfort. Problem is, he’s starting to get old and now he just tells the same stories over and over.

7. Washington Wizards – 2016-17 record: 49-33, 2016-17 net rating: 1.6 (9^th in NBA)

Additions: Jodie Meeks, Tim Frazier

Losses: Brandon Jennings, Bojan Bogdanovic

PG - John Wall

SG - Bradley Beal

SF - Otto Porter Jr.

PF - Markieff Morris*

C - Marcin Gortat

G - Jodie Meeks

F - Kelly Oubre Jr.

C - Ian Mahinmi

*out 6-8 weeks after sports hernia surgery

I personally cannot wait for the “Which Second-Tier Eastern Conference Team with a Shitty Bench Will Get the Three Seed?” subplot to play out. Washington was one Kelly Olynyk out-of-body experience away from making its first ever conference finals last year. They have a younger and more athletic backcourt than their Canadian conference rival. They also have a series of weaknesses that good teams can exploit. With Markieff Morris’ sports hernia keeping him out of the lineup for extended time, the Wizards are facing the possibility of starting Jason Smith in real-life NBA games that count, or playing Otto Porter up a position as an undersized power forward. Neither of those options would entice me if I was a Wizards fan, especially with the career year Porter just turned in.

Scott Brooks did start a Wall-Beal-Oubre-Porter-Gortat lineup twice last season, and it resulted in two wins. That’s the lineup I would roll out in the opening games, hoping to put as much as much athleticism and versatility (and as little Jason Smith as possible) out there. I’m all in on healthy Bradley Beal, and intrigued to see if he can improve on his already-stellar 44 percent clip on corner threes. If Beal finally secures the All-Star nod that has eluded him so far, Washington is in good shape for the three seed. John Wall, who may be an actual wizard, is in the top five of most exciting guys to watch run a fast break, and the other parts of his game are maturing too. Wall cracked 20 points and two steals per game for the first time in ‘16-17. He has all the tools to land on an All-NBA team and an All-Defensive team. I’m just worried he may have to play something like 38 minutes per game and fall victim to fatigue as the season wears on. Just to refresh your memory, Washington’s bench is a disaster zone. Their seventh through ninth guys are, in some order: Jodie Meeks, Ian Mahinmi, and Tim Frazier. Meeks has played in 39 games over the last two seasons, Mahinmi is 6’11” and 250 lbs. coming off injuries to both knees, and Tim Frazier could easily be a guy I just made up. I want to live in a world where John Wall is punking fools in the conference finals. Partly because the people of D.C. deserve some positives to distract them from the real world, and partly so he gets as many chances as possible to do things like this.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Scaletta/Twitter

6. Houston Rockets – 2016-17 record: 55-27 (3^rd in West), 2016-17 net rating: 5.4 (3^rd in NBA)

Additions: Chris Paul, P.J. Tucker, Luc Mbah a Moute, Tarik Black

Losses: Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker

PG - Chris Paul

SG - James Harden

SF - Trevor Ariza

PF - Ryan Anderson

C - Clint Capela

G - Eric Gordon

F - P.J. Tucker

C - Nene

Houston is close to locking down its spot as most divisive team in the NBA. For several years now, the basketball world has been inundated with questions about the Rockets that elicit a million and one different opinions. Is Daryl Morey too smart for his own good? While it makes sense in theory, should a team really avoid mid-range shots like they’re poison? Is James Harden’s signature lurch forward and throw the head back a legitimate move? Why is their mascot a giant bear? Now, the latest one, is trading for Chris Paul a good idea when your best player just had a career year playing primarily point guard?

That last question is one that could decide the landscape of this year’s playoffs. James Harden really averaged over 11 assists per game in 2016-17. That really happened. Now the team brought in the most prototypical point guard imaginable, and this is where I’m obligated to remind you that there’s only one ball. I do think the cries about sharing the rock are a bit overblown – it’s not like Harden didn’t play shooting guard very well for seven years – but there will definitely be some kinks to work out. Paul took nearly half of his field goal attempts last year in the midrange, a shot selection his new GM hates more than anything on earth. While I’m sure Paul is fully aware of the tenets of Moreyball, I doubt a 32-year-old future Hall of Famer is looking to transform the style of play that has made him so successful. The battle between Paul’s id and Morey’s super-ego promises to be fascinating.

The Rockets’ offense is truly basketball nerd porn, and probably the first thing I’d show an NBA fan from 1984 if they took a time machine to today. Houston took 3,306 three pointers last season, more than the Boston Celtics took over the course of nine seasons in the 1980s. If recent trends tell us anything, Houston will probably launch even more this season. New guys P.J. Tucker and Tarik Black bring an element of toughness that Patrick Beverley took with him to Los Angeles. This could help subdue the (incorrect) wails from basketball fans who still think that living from the three-point arc is somehow the antithesis of toughness. Throw out a small-ball lineup of Paul and Harden with Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, and Ryan Anderson, then ask the opposing teams how tough that is to guard. Whatever your opinion on the three-point revolution is, the fact will always remain that three points is more than two. Unless Betsy DeVos has the power to reassign value to numbers, shooting threes will always be good, and teams like the Rockets that excel at it will also be good.

5. Boston Celtics – 2016-17 record: 53-29 (1^st in East), 2016-17 net rating: 3.1 (7^th in NBA)

Additions: Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, Jayson Tatum, Aron Baynes

Losses: Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson

PG - Kyrie Irving

SG - Jaylen Brown

SF - Gordon Hayward*

PF - Marcus Morris**

C - Al Horford

G - Marcus Smart

G - Terry Rozier

F - Jayson Tatum

*you saw what happened

**out at least a week with a knee injury

Full disclosure: I had this section all written and ready to go, and then Gordon Hayward’s leg turned to spaghetti and made me very sad. I’m 100 percent not a doctor, but I feel like a fractured tibia is probably keeping you out for the whole season. No matter how long Hayward is out, losing your prized free agent less than six minutes into the season is brutal. There are infinite implications that the injury has on Boston’s season, all of them far more important than getting bumped down in these rankings. Kyrie Irving now has to carry a heavier load on offense and operate without his best off-ball shooter. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who cannot legally drink yet, are going to see way more minutes and way more responsibilities. When Irving is on the bench, it’s hard to cobble together a lineup that projects to be above average from the three-point line. Suddenly, less than halfway through the first quarter of its first game, Boston has lost a major part of its identity.

The Celtics got 33.4 percent of their points last season from three pointers. That was the third-highest percentage in the league, and a big reason why Boston was in the top ten of offensive rating and effective field goal percentage. Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Kelly Olynyk, all of whom signed elsewhere or were traded in the offseason, all shot 35 percent or better from beyond the arc. With that quartet out the door, the team’s outside shooting takes a major hit, which was only compounded by Hayward’s injury. Brad Stevens is a maestro of creating offenses, but he’ll have to take his game to the next level now. Brown’s opening night performance was encouraging, but that was just one game, and he’s still impossibly young. My favorite stat from his rookie season is the 43 percent hit rate on corner threes. Look for Stevens to emphasize him taking those shots throughout the year, and even more so as he tries to replace the scoring Hayward would have brought.

One person who should probably be persuaded to shoot less threes is Marcus Smart. Not to beat a dead horse here, but Hayward’s injury places a greater importance on each player maximizing their best skills. Smart is a career 29 percent three-point shooter who was even worse than that last year. Defense and passing are the best things Smart brings to the table, and he will draw the assignment of the other team’s best offensive guard every time he’s on the floor. He would be smart (no pun intended) to scale back the three balls and focus more on getting others involved on offense.

Irving is now the unquestioned guy for the Celtics. As icky as it made us all feel, Hayward’s injury is also sort of uncomfortable in that it weirdly opens the door for Kyrie to become the alpha dog that many thought LeBron was preventing him from being. It’s time for him to step into that leadership role and captain a ship that could have capsized in the first game. Al Horford has to do his part as well, same for Brown and Smart and Terry Rozier and the rest of the roster, to have any chance of salvaging the season. What happened to Hayward is one of the cruelest scenarios imaginable for him and the Celtics, but they can still be the second-best team in the East. It will take a Herculean effort from Kyrie, the typical understated greatness of Stevens and Horford, and a year of overachievement from the cast of role players. Boston won 53 games without Hayward, and they can do it again if everything falls into place.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder – 2016-17 record: 47-35 (6^th in West), 2016-17 net rating: -0.2 (17^th in NBA)

Additions: Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Patterson, Raymond Felton

Losses: Enes Kanter, Victor Oladipo, Doug McDermott, Taj Gibson, Domantas Sabonis

PG - Russell Westbrook

SG - Andre Roberson

SF - Paul George

PF - Carmelo Anthony

C - Steven Adams

G - Alex Abrines

F - Jerami Grant

F/C - Patrick Patterson

I can’t say I wanted this to happen, but now that it did, I feel the need to address it. As a fan of the Seattle SuperSonics I was fully prepared for Russell Westbrook to go balls to the wall with a group of below average teammates, only to bail in free agency after the season and leave Oklahoma City as the destitute wasteland that it is. That was until approximately July 6, when Oklahoma stole Paul George like they did the Sonics.

The avalanche continued when professional finesser Sam Presti got Carmelo Anthony and gave Westbrook a swimming pool of money to stay, ensuring that the Thunder will not be going away any time soon. OKC is now one of the most compelling teams in the league, wrangling two Hall of Famers to play with a triple-double machine. Even the secondary and tertiary moves the Thunder pulled off are exciting. Getting Patrick Patterson when no one was looking, on a modest three-year, $16.4 million deal is downright thievery. Patterson creates some wondrous three-point heavy lineups with his ability to play center with Anthony and George at the forward spots. Alex Abrines should probably play more minutes since his best skill is shooting threes and his team was last in the league in three-point percentage. The 24-year-old Spaniard played the least minutes of anyone last year that shot 38 percent or better on at least 3.5 treys per game.

The most pressing question to ask when trying to evaluate the Thunder is, “What version of Carmelo Anthony is showing up?” Fans in favor of the deal are insistent that playing with superior talent will force Melo into his Team USA role. That would be ideal for everyone, because Team USA Melo once dropped 37 points in 14 minutes on Nigeria. Fans that are skeptical of the deal think that New York Melo is here to stay, and that nine contested fadeaway jumpers per game are headed to OKC. This would threaten to take the ball out of Westbrook’s hands and undo many of the things that made him so captivating last year, when he sported the highest usage rate in NBA history. I’m sort of hoping that being third banana to Westbrook and George affords Carmelo enough relaxation to become Bodega Melo full-time. If I’m forced to live in a world that constantly reminds me of the what-if scenarios about the Sonics, I at least want the Zombie Sonics to make me smile every now and again. Let Melo play in a hoodie and wear a bathrobe on the bench, keep Patrick Beverley away from Russ at all costs, and for God's sake please update the garish logo. It’s been almost ten years now.

Photo courtesy of mr_camron/Instagram

3. San Antonio Spurs – 2016-17 record: 61-21 (2^nd in West), 2016-17 net rating: 7.9 (2^nd in NBA)

Additions: Rudy Gay, Joffrey Lauvergne

Losses: Jonathon Simmons, David Lee, Dewayne Dedmon

PG - Tony Parker*

SG - Danny Green

SF - Kawhi Leonard

PF - LaMarcus Aldridge

C - Pau Gasol

G - Patty Mills

G - Manu Ginobili

F - Rudy Gay

*out until November with a torn quadricep

Repeat after me: NEVER SLEEP ON THE SPURS. San Antonio is on its way to a 21^st straight playoff appearance, and 28^th in the last 29 years. They won’t be afraid of the Warriors in the regular season or the playoffs, because Kawhi Leonard isn’t afraid of anything. Pairing a top-five player like Kawhi with a top-one coach is a match made in basketball heaven. I’m in the camp who thinks Gregg Popovich should win Coach of the Year every single year. My opinion has only been reinforced by his new crusade against Donald Trump. The only way the Spurs falter is if Trump gets impeached in favor of Pop, a loss for San Antonio but a championship for the United States.

As demonstrated in last year’s playoffs, the Spurs need Kawhi Leonard at full strength more than any team needs any player. If any organization is set up to circumvent the new resting rules it’s undoubtedly the Spurs. Keep your eyes peeled for fugazi Kawhi injuries that allow him to sit in various regular season games. San Antonio needs to save its bullets for the Western Conference battle royale this April and May. The regular season will be for things like developing Dejounte Murray and keeping Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on ice. The three-year extension handed out to LaMarcus Aldridge is a bit perplexing, but the Spurs have shown over the course of my entire life that they know what they’re doing. Sure, the big fella’s scoring number plummeted to its lowest point since his rookie year. And yes, he shot 41% from the field with less than six rebounds per game in the Conference Finals against the Warriors. But a fresh $72 million is a tremendous vote of confidence, and the Spurs’ system is the best incubator in the league. The trepidation is warranted as Aldridge enters his age-32 season, but a 41 percent clip on 56 three-point attempts last season is a sign of encouragement. Again, never sleep on the Spurs.

This is a big year for Murray and Kyle Anderson. Franchise martyrs Parker and Ginobili won’t be around for much longer as the hammer of time descends on them. Murray received 24 minutes of action in San Antonio’s series-clinching victory over Houston last spring. All he did was go 5-for-10 from the floor and snag 10 rebounds on his way to a double-double, as the Spurs outscored Houston by 33 points when the Seattle native was on the court. Not bad for a rookie who couldn’t get into a bar after the game. Anderson is basically a more in-shape version of Boris Diaw with a net rating above 10 for the last two seasons. At some point Adam Silver may have to consider banning the Spurs from making late first-round selections, because they keep crushing their picks and sonning the rest of the teams. (PSA if any Spurs people are reading this: I am 22 years old with a wingspan four inches longer than my height and a decent floater. I’m ready if you want to shock the world in the 2018 draft).   

2. Cleveland Cavaliers – 2016-17 record: 51-31 (2^nd in East), 2016-17 net rating: 2.9 (8^th in NBA)

Additions: Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, Jose Calderon, Jeff Green

Losses: Kyrie Irving, Richard Jefferson

PG - Isaiah Thomas*

SG - Dwyane Wade

SF - LeBron James

PF - Jae Crowder

C - Kevin Love

G - Derrick Rose

G - J.R. Smith

C - Tristan Thompson

*out until January with a hip injury

When fully healthy, the Cavs can absolutely be the second-best team in the league. But as of now, heading into battle with Derrick Rose and Jose Calderon handling point guard duties, Cleveland is prone to get leapfrogged by the Western Conference heavyweights. As per usual, the regular season means nothing to the Cavaliers. They can cakewalk their way into the playoffs and turn it on when the lights shine brightest. The Cavs’ season is more about staying healthy and smoothing out little issues than it is about wins.

That being said, they’re still going to win a lot. LeBron’s teams have won 50 or more games in eight straight non-lockout years. Making another Finals appearance would give LeBron eight in a row. He is a 32-year-old family man who has his priorities straight, and at this point February games in Orlando have to be near the bottom of that list. The NBA’s new policy about resting healthy players seems like a great loophole for LeBron to exploit. He led the league in minutes played last season and has an unprecedented number of miles on his body for someone his age. He hasn’t played more than 76 games in a season since 2010-11. All this information points to the big guy taking another mid-season vacation to Miami to rest up before spraying his flamethrower all over the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.

The Las Vegas over/under on the Cavs’ win total for the upcoming season is set at 53 ½. Given the murkiness of Isaiah Thomas’ recovery timeline, the amount of roster influx, and the team’s overall apathy about dominating the regular season, I’d take the under on that. If I had to bet on one team to win the East though, these would be my guys. LeBron is the best basketball player I’ve ever seen. There are nights where he looks like a dad playing in the driveway against children, and until one of his limbs literally falls off, I’m riding with him to the Finals. I also don’t know if there’s any player I’d trust more than LeBron to oversee the D-Rose resurrection plan. No modern athlete has inspired as many hot takes or think pieces as LeBron, but no one is better at getting the most out of past-their-prime veterans either. Rose is to the Cavs as Mike Miller, Shane Battier, and Birdman were to the Heat, except Rose flashed more athleticism and pizzazz in three and a half years than those guys did over their entire careers.

There’s an argument to be made that introducing fresh blood to the Warriors would make for a more entertaining Finals, but I’m not sure I agree with that. Seeing LeBron go at Steph and Klay and Draymond for the fourth straight year would be like the basketball version of the Revolutionary War. In this corner, a side led by an all-encompassing king who controls the world around him, dressed in red and clinging to his last few years of power. In the other corner, a group of young up-and-comers looking to change the world and topple the only man capable of holding them down. Unfortunately for LeBron, we all know how that played out 240 years ago.

1. Golden State Warriors – 2016-17 record: 67-15 (1^st in West), 2016-17 net rating: 12.1 (1^st in NBA)

Additions: Nick Young, Jordan Bell, Omri Casspi

Losses: Ian Clark, James Michael McAdoo, Matt Barnes

PG - Stephen Curry

SG - Klay Thompson

SF - Kevin Durant

PF - Draymond Green

C - Zaza Pachulia

G - Shaun Livingston

G/F - Andre Iguodala

C - JaVale McGee

I suspect this team will be quite good. They’ve been quite good for the last five years, exceptional for the last three, and could elevate to an even higher plane now that Kevin Durant has a full year in the Bay under his belt. The start of the Warriors’ 2016-17 season felt a bit like the house party scene at the beginning of This is the End, where all the famous people are just meeting and getting to know each other. After losing the sixth game of the season to the Lakers, Golden State obliterated everyone and went 46-7 until Durant got hurt. By the time the playoffs rolled around, they were Liam Neeson in Taken, pistol whipping everyone in sight on their way to a championship.

I feel like the Golden State front office picked up on the whispers that their team’s dominance was making them less fun. I’m not saying that’s why they poached Nick Young and re-signed JaVale McGee, but I’m also not not saying that. The Swaggy P addition is not only oodles of fun, it also makes sense given the way Golden State likes to play. Young does not need to be told twice to shoot, and he’ll likely always be paired with another wing player who can handle the more advanced defensive duties. The Warriors seem to be following the early-2010s Heat model of bringing in one wild-card per year in hopes of securing them a ring. I for one can’t wait to see the words “NBA Champion” forever attached to Kirk Hinrich‘s name after he comes out of hiding to drain threes in the 2019 Finals.

In all seriousness, Golden State has put together a transcendent sports team, and we should all soak it in as much as possible. Even if the notion of the Warriors celebrating in eight months bores you with its predictability, there are still some aspects of their season that can be suspenseful and entertaining. For one, they have a real chance of placing four guys on an All-NBA team, which has never happened since the league expanded to three All-NBA teams for the 1988-89 season. They could also have like four or five guys shoot above 40 percent from three-point territory, and challenge the record for team three-point percentage set by the 1996-97 Bulls. Chicago connected on 42.8 percent of its triples that season, taking 1,159 less threes than Golden State did last year.

It’s up to you to decide your feelings about the Warriors dynasty that has no end in sight. Aesthetically, it’s hard to deny the pleasure of watching parabolic threes splash through the net as the Oracle Arena crowd swells into a frenzy. Steph dribbling through a maze of defenders to hit a step-back three can feel euphoric. Klay Thompson is liable to drop 30 in a quarter on any given night. Draymond Green might one day trash talk a man into early retirement, and Kevin Durant somehow seems to slip through the cracks despite being maybe the best scorer of his generation. The Warriors play acid trip basketball, and the rest of the league is still sipping its first beer.