Storylines for Every NBA Fan to Watch During the 2016 NBA Playoffs
Intriguing storylines have been omnipresent during the regular season, but they're all mere appetizers before the main course—the NBA playoffs.
Fear not; compelling regular-season narratives are about to give way to stories that capture the attention of basketball fans everywhere.
Given the plethora of marquee players competing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the potential clashes of teams that have been more like forces of nature and the possibility of major upsets, we won't be lacking in the intrigue department when the league's second season begins.
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Kevin Durant's OKC Tenure
Will this be Kevin Durant's last time suiting up for the Oklahoma City Thunder? We've seen other superstars experience early exits and then remove their jerseys for the final time, and a similar situation is a distinct possibility with the former MVP's contract expiring this offseason.
Marquee Power Forwards Under Pressure
If Blake Griffin returns to the Los Angeles Clippers lineup after months of watching from the sidelines and his team takes a step in the wrong direction, we could see him emerge as a trade candidate this summer. LAC has thrived without him, and an early exit could be the necessary impetus behind making a core-altering move.
Ditto for Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Northeast Ohio's Big Three hasn't been around nearly as long, but Love's fit has already been subject to plenty of questions—questions that could grow far more insistent if the Cavs don't advance to the NBA Finals.
Return to the Playoffs
The Detroit Pistons figure to play beyond the 82nd game of the season, marking the first time they'll make the playoffs since being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2009 postseason. In the West, the Utah Jazz are also trying to end a lengthy playoff drought—they haven't made it so far since 2011-12.
What Can LeBron James Do?
Love or hate LeBron James, you probably have a strong opinion about the four-time MVP, whether that's about his melodramatic actions on social media and with the press or his on-court prowess.
But everyone should agree on one thing: This guy can still dominate a basketball game.
James is averaging 25.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Cleveland Cavaliers while shooting 51.1 percent from the field. When he's on the court, his team outscores the opposition by 11 points per 100 possessions—a stark contrast from the minus-4.3 net rating it's produced when he's not playing.
Not much will change in the playoffs, except James might assume even more responsibility.
"He just talked about he feels great," Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue recently said about his superstar forward, per Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon. "I was like, getting stronger as the season winds down—he's getting stronger. That's a big plus for us."
Throughout James' career, we've consistently seen him elevate his performance during the league's second season, attempting to carry his squad to the NBA Finals. Just think back on the infamous "48 special" or his 2015 postseason averages—30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists before succumbing to the Golden State Warriors in the final round.
This year, the same trend of elevated play should follow his typically excellent regular season.
Despite the presences of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, James is the Cleveland Cavaliers. How far they advance in the playoffs rests almost entirely on his shoulders, regardless of whether that's a fair burden for any one man.
If only because of his individual prowess and his knack for creating uber-athletic highlights—which we've honestly become a bit jaded to—watching and following James always makes for an intriguing storyline. Throw in the possibility of a clash with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, a team that's had Cleveland's number throughout the regular season, and the intrigue only grows.
Can an Eastern Conference Challenger Emerge?
"I feel like we're the team to beat," Kyrie Irving told reporters after a 107-87 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "I mean, honestly, it's open season until we get into the playoffs, so I have a lot more confidence than I think anyone realizes in our team and what's going on in our locker room."
The Cavaliers' 53-22 record leaves them 2.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors and every other team in their half of the NBA, and no East squad can beat their 6.5 net rating—only the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder do throughout the Association as a whole. Basketball-Reference.com's Simple Rating System (SRS, which is based off margin of victory and strength of schedule) tells a similar story, giving them a sizable advantage over every other team in the conference.
But the Cavs remain vulnerable.
"Under Lue, the Cavs are 19-9, fourth in offensive efficiency but 15th in defensive efficiency. They’re having trouble stopping teams which is crucial in the postseason," USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt wrote after a March 19 loss to the Miami Heat. "Cleveland is not moving in the right direction, at least defensively and in winning percentage."
Since then, they've only helped reinforce the point with losses to both the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets. And while they may be the East's best team in a vacuum, that hasn't prevented them from struggling against the conference's other playoff squads:
Miami hasn't been Cleveland's only bugaboo, even if the prospect of a seven-game series against the South Beach representatives might keep James and Co. up at night. They've had plenty of trouble against the Toronto Raptors and could get tests from improved versions of both the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks.
At full strength, Boston is a dangerous bunch. They have a go-to scorer in Isaiah Thomas, but the ability to get two-way contributions from so many players is a huge luxury, especially with Jae Crowder back in the fold. Meanwhile, the Hawks have boasted arguably the league's best defense during the second half of the season, and that could play rather well once games matter even more.
James' team has advanced to the NBA Finals in four consecutive campaigns, but extending that streak to five is by no means a guarantee. The path through the East could be quite difficult this year, regardless of who wins in the early rounds.
Damian Lillard's Latest Upset Bid
Rewind almost a year, and Damian Lillard was averaging 21.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2015 playoffs, though it wasn't enough to spark a first-round upset over a Memphis Grizzlies squad that entered the postseason with a worse seed but stronger record.
Rewind two years, and the talented point guard was drilling a clutch jumper to clinch a series victory against the Houston Rockets:
Rip City couldn't get past the San Antonio Spurs in the second round, but that singular moment still lingers. It offers hope that Lillard could put together another stellar individual effort and play spoiler against a stronger team.
An explosive superstar capable of single-handedly winning games? Check, which we saw on full display when Lillard dropped a 51-spot against the Warriors on Feb. 19. A running mate who can also carry the offense for lengthy stretches? Check, since C.J. McCollum has blossomed during his sophomore season by averaging 20.7 points in efficient fashion.
Beyond the two backcourt studs, the Blazers boast plenty of young players who will be eager to prove themselves on the bigger stage. Combine that with a talented head coach in Terry Stotts, and you have the recipe for a potential Cinderella.
Whether they're playing the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers or Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round, they'll provide a scare for the favored opponent. And if Lillard catches fire, anything could happen.
Chris Paul's Attempt to Shed Choker Label
Chris Paul has never advanced to the Western Conference Finals. That much is fact. But those "failures" are not the indictments they seem to be.
As Zach Lowe wrote for Grantland early in the 2014-15 season, this choker narrative may be a little faulty:
"What will it mean if the Clippers bow out early again this year? How will it affect Paul’s legacy?
Maybe these aren’t the right questions. They’re interesting, and inflammatory, but they also skimp on the work in a rush toward some false generalization. Maybe the answer would just be, 'Chris Paul is awesome, and he played fantastically, but another great Western Conference team was just a bit better over a full series.' Such a failure could mean many things, only some of which would have do with Paul. Perhaps it might be some indication that it is difficult to win the whole thing with a point guard alpha dog.
"
The 2015 postseason didn't help, even though Paul made a memorable series-winning shot to knock off the Spurs. After all, that was quickly followed by the Los Angeles Clippers' utter collapse against the Rockets in the subsequent round.
But yet again, Paul was fantastic as an individual. Throughout that playoff run, he averaged 22.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from downtown and 94.1 percent at the charity stripe. His player efficiency rating stood at 25.7, he added more win shares per 48 minutes than any other postseason performer and his 7.6 box plus/minus lagged behind only James, Curry, Al-Farouq Aminu (yes, Al-Farouq Aminu) and Tim Duncan.
And yet, the narrative persists.
If Paul's to get rid of it this season, he'll have to lead LAC to an incredible upset. As the playoff seeding currently stands, he'd be squaring off against the injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, but then a showdown with either the Spurs or Warriors lurks in the second.
Will his legacy change if no one expects him to make it to the Western Conference Finals? Does it even matter if he's brilliant yet again?
San Antonio-Golden State Showdown?
Fun as it may be to watch Chris Paul and Damian Lillard lead upset bids, the world will justifiably feel cheated if the Spurs and Warriors don't match up for the right to advance to the NBA Finals. It seems like we've been waiting for the inevitable showdown all year, and the regular-season matchups between the two, satisfying as they may be, have only served as teasers.
Tim Duncan missed the first clash between the two, resting his injured knee while the Dubs blew out the visiting Spurs by a final margin of 120-90. But he got some revenge on March 19, when San Antonio shut down Curry and held Golden State's high-scoring offense—admittedly missing Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli and Andre Iguodala—to just 79 points.
Two more matchups between the juggernauts remain, but it feels unlikely head coach Gregg Popovich will play all of his starters and reveal his hand when the Warriors have all but wrapped up the West's No. 1 seed.
If we want to see two of the greatest teams of all time face off at full strength, we'll have to remain patient until the Western Conference Finals.
The legendary nature of these squads goes beyond Golden State's quest for 73 wins and San Antonio's inevitable finish in the high 60s.
By SRS, both are within the top seven throughout NBA history. My databases show that when looking at net rating, the Spurs stand at No. 2, while the Warriors lag behind at "only" No. 5. Just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks, 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and 1971-72 Bucks have posted larger margins of victory.
These are two of the best teams we'll ever witness. And while it's a crying shame one of them will have to lose before the final stage of the postseason, we'll all be better off for watching them clash.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, are from Basketball-Reference.com or Adam's own databases and accurate through games on March 31.
