Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (left) and forward LeBron James (23) celebrate after a 105-100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Six months, 169 days, 2,460 games, and 42 Russell Westbrook triple-doubles later, it has arrived.
The NBA Playoffs begin Saturday—if you somehow didn't know—and as far as we're concerned, Christmas can fall back. This is the most wonderful time of the year.
All clichés aside, from now until the middle of June when the NBA crowns its next champ, it's about to get real out in these streets. The slog that is the NBA regular season is behind us and the basketball we all pine for is here in all its glory. But what do you need to know before the Association takes it up a few notches? A few things.
Why are the Bulls still balling? What's the most interesting series in the Western Conference besides Houston-Oklahoma City? Does seeding matter? What should we expect from LeBron? Does defense really win championships? And who should you bet on? Get your ass up to speed on all things playoff basketball with our postseason primer. @ us if you must, but when you're done reading this we guarantee you'll be smarter, and possibly richer.
This is why the Warriors signed Kevin Durant.
Regular season wins records are cool, but you know what’s even cooler? Winning championships. The Golden State Warriors didn’t sign Kevin Durant last summer in order to break their own 73-win record (NARRATOR: They didn’t, finishing with “just” 67 wins). No, they signed him to win titles, plural, and with his recovery from his latest knee injury complete, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping them. Sure, yes, 3-1 and everything, but let’s see someone—anyone—beat this bunch four times in seven games. — Russ Bengtson
Throw some money on the Spurs.
Here are the odds to win it all:
Warriors -160
Cavaliers +333
Spurs +600
Rockets +1600
Celtics +1600
Raptors +3300
Wizards +4000
Clippers +5000
Jazz +6600
Thunder +6600
Grizzlies +15000
Hawks +25000
Bucks +25000
Pacers +25000
Bulls +25000
Trail Blazers +30000
So where’s the value? Throw dollars down on the Warriors at your own discretion. The team that’s supposedly built to win it all this season, and the team Jeff Van Gundy clearly thinks is head and shoulders above the rest, is a significant favorite and not worth your investment. The Cavs are tempting at +333, but do you trust their defense? That’s why the only squad worth taking are the Spurs, at 6-1. With an MVP candidate, a Hall of Fame coach, savvy veterans, and a championship pedigree, is there any doubt that the Spurs conceivably have what it takes to win a sixth title under Gregg Popovich? I don’t think so. Yes, the Warriors are standing in their way, but the Spurs took two of three during the season series. I’d just be concerned that the second oldest team in the league might not have much left in the tank after what we all expect to be a brutal Western Conference finals showdown with Golden State. But 6-1 is tempting... — Adam Caparell
Get ready for Super Saiyan LeBron.
The defending champs stumbled their way into the playoffs, having dropped 15 of their last 26 because of a bad defense. They tried shoring it up by bringing Andrew Bogut on only to watch him break his leg in the first minute of his first game. Cleveland will have to flip the switch in a challenging Eastern Conference. Having the best player in the league helps and we all know he’s going to be playing at a high level. But this year feels different. Boston, Toronto, and Washington have all gotten better and are playing great ball. And once (if?) they get past them, the Cavs will have to face a Golden State for the third straight year in the Finals. The 2017 playoffs are going to feel like a Street Fighter arcade campaign. LeBron is a different player in the postseason, though. He goes Super Saiyan and I’m willing to bet he averages a triple-double. The King is chasing the ghosts of the top five players in NBA history. If he reaches the Finals for a seventh straight year and wins? He’ll be top three all-time, no debate, put it in stone, on my momma. Super Saiyan James, Kung-Fu Bronny, and whatever else you wanna call him will be in full effect. So sit down, be humble; for we are all witnesses. — Angel Diaz
Why did the Bulls make the playoffs?
As a lifelong Chicago Bulls fan, I grew somewhat used to their regular playoff appearances, starting in the mid-’80s and ending with the vaunted Last Dance in 1998. Then there was the Derrick Rose era, which ended not with a bang, but with a trade to the Knicks. Rebuilding was supposed to start now, centered around All-Star Jimmy Butler. But no. The Bulls brought in Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade, and squeaked into the playoffs by the slimmest of margins. For what? Now GarPax get to keep their jobs, Rondo gets to square off against his old team, and the Bulls get a four or five (or maybe six) game reprieve. And a worse draft pick. Thanks for nothing. — R.B.
Seeding doesn't matter.
Five times LeBron James has been a No. 2 seed entering the playoffs and five times he’s reached the NBA Finals. Only twice has his team been the No. 1 seed in the East. So you tell me whether seeding really matters? I think we can all agree that strictly speaking from a talent perspective, the Cavaliers are the best team in a weak Eastern Conference. Yes, the Cavs have issues, most especially some glaring defensive inefficiencies. But how did home court advantage work for the Warriors last year in the NBA Finals? Are you really going to pick against Cleveland in the East? Especially after we watched them trounce the Celtics at home two weeks before the playoffs started? — A.C.
Settle in for The Lance Stephenson Experience.
The Pacers are 5-2 since bringing Born Ready back home. Already he’s made his presence known when he got under Toronto’s skin in just his third game back. Indiana has no chance against the Cavs but at least we’ll be able to see Lance against his favorite foil, LeBron. Stephenson will without a doubt have tricks up his sleeve as he’ll try to get into the head of the game’s best player. Yes, it’s like Wile E. Coyote failing to catch the Road Runner but you still wake up, pour a bowl (and pack a bowl?) of cereal, and watch that dumbass coyote fall for that ostrich looking thing’s shit every single time. The Lance Stephenson Experience is a funny one as he dazzles not only with his hijinks but with his brief flashes of brilliance on both ends of the floor. Put your 3D glasses on because Born Ready is gonna make a movie. — A.D.
This is the series you should pay attention to in the West.
Thunder-Rockets is the sexiest matchup of the first round, and for good reason. But the series that's going to get lost amid all the hoopla surrounding Russ vs. the Beard that shouldn't be slept on? That's San Antonio-Memphis. Why? Well, the squads split the season series and if you're like us, pining for a semblance of the hard-nosed, defensive basketball, the kind we grew up on when the NBA on NBC featured the best sports theme song in the history of the world, this is your series. The teams split their four matchups and all were low scoring affairs by today's bombs-away standards. The Spurs (shocker) are the best defensive team in the league while the Grizzlies are sixth. You've got the Gasol brothers doing battle in the playoffs for the first time while a bunch of geezers like Tony Parker (34), Vince Ginobli (39), Vince Carter (40), and Zach Randolph (35) make up the supporting cast and are bound to be the difference makers in a series we could easily see going six, if not seven, games. — A.C.
Why can't we have playoff Dion?
The NBA is arguably healthier than it has ever been. The MVP race is full of worthy candidates—there will be no unanimous pick this year—and there is not a single sub-.500 team in the playoffs. The Miami Heat, who finished at .500, only missed out because of a tiebreaker. The Heat weren’t supposed to be anywhere close to a playoff berth, what with Dwyane Wade leaving for Chicago, Chris Bosh all but retired, and second-year forward Justise Winslow playing all of 18 games. And for the first half of the season, they played like it. On January 13th, they dropped to 11-30 with a loss to the Bucks. The next game kicked off an improbable 13-game winning streak as they went 30-11 the rest of the way, led by off-season acquisition Dion Waiters. Waiters missed the final 13 games of the season with an injury. If he doesn’t get hurt, maybe the Heat are doing something even more improbable this spring. — R.B.
Defense wins championships. Attn: Cleveland.
The Cavaliers defense was bad this season. How bad was it? They were 20th in points allowed (107.2 ppg) despite playing at a middling pace, and 21st in Defensive Rating (110.3). Teams shot 36 percent from three against them and 46 percent from the floor—both right around the middle—and they gave up 120 or more points 14 times, twice in their last three games. This was not all Kevin Love’s fault. And while the Cavaliers actually won their fair share of those ABA-style shootouts, they have lived dangerously all season, trusting in their own high-octane offense to trump the other side’s. This is not a style that has traditionally worked in the playoffs. Championship teams tend to be defensive juggernauts, able to lock opponents down for entire series. To repeat, the Cavaliers will have to defy history. To be fair, of course, they’ve done it before. — R.B.
Enoy the Clippers while you can.
The trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan enters its sixth straight postseason and all the Clippers have to show for their five previous trips together are zero Western Conference Finals appearances. And the prospects of Los Angeles breaking through to that vaunted level appear slim to none considering a showdown with Golden State looms in the second round. Anyone picking the Clippers to upset the Warriors? Didn't think so. Golden State romped in their four meetings this year, winning by an average of 21.5 points per game, and while the Clippers are favored to get past the Jazz in the first round, would you be that surprised if Utah pulled off the upset? So once the Clippers are eliminated, it's time for coach/GM Doc Rivers to seriously considering blowing it up. Paul's a free agent, Griffin— with one year left on his deal—is always rumored to be on the trading block, and Carmelo Anthony is out there dying to be rescued from the wasteland that is New York. Something has to give in the off-season and after another early exit in the playoffs, don't be surprised if the Clippers' Big 3 is over and out. — A.C.
So who's winning it all?
Predictions? We talkin' bout predictions?
Adam Caparell
First Round
East
Celtics-Bulls: Celtics in 6
Cavs-Pacers: Cavs in 5
Wizards-Hawks: Wizards in 6
Raptors-Bucks: Raptors in 5
West
Warriors-Blazers: Warriors in 4
Spurs-Grizzlies: Spurs in 6
Rockets-Thunder: Thunder in 7
Clippers-Jazz: Jazz in 6
Eastern Conference Finals
Cavs-Wizards: Cavs in 6
Western Conference Finals
Warriors-Spurs: Warriors in 7
NBA Finals
Cavs-Warriors: Warriors in 5
Russ Bengtson
First Round
East
Celtics-Bulls: Celtics in 6
Cavs-Pacers: Cavs in 5
Wizards-Hawks: Wizards in 5
Raptors-Bucks: Raptors in 6
West
Warriors-Blazers: Warriors in 5
Spurs-Grizzlies: Spurs in 5
Rockets-Thunder: Rockets in 7
Clippers-Jazz: Jazz in 6
Eastern Conference Finals
Cavs-Celtics: Cavs in 6
Western Conference Finals
Warriors-Spurs: Warriors in 7
NBA Finals
Cavs-Warriors: Warriors in 6
Angel Diaz
First Round
East
Celtics-Bulls: Celtics in 6
Cavs-Pacers: Cavs in 4
Wizards-Hawks: Wizards in 5
Raptors-Bucks: Raptors in 6
West
Warriors-Blazers: Warriors in 5
Spurs-Grizzlies: Spurs in 5
Rockets-Thunder: Thunder in 7
Clippers-Jazz: Jazz in 6
Eastern Conference Finals
Cavs-Celtics: Cavs in 6
Western Conference Finals
Warriors-Spurs: Warriors in 6
NBA Finals
Cavs-Warriors: Cavs in 6