Community Shootaround

After weeks of unexciting preliminaries, we’re finally ready for the main event.

It has taken three rounds and 47 days to determine what everyone has known since training camp — the Warriors and Cavaliers are clearly the NBA’s best teams.

Golden State and Cleveland set a record by tearing through their competitors, arriving at the NBA Finals with one combined loss. The addition of Kevin Durant to a team that won 73 games last season gave the Warriors a nearly unprecedented collection of talent. The Cavaliers have their own Big Three and have been a clear favorite to win the East every year since LeBron James came back to town in 2014.

But as the NBA reminded us in its famous advertising campaign from nearly a decade ago, there can only be one.

As they prepare for their third straight get-together in the Finals, both Golden State and Cleveland can feel like the series they lost was somewhat fluky. Kyrie Irving suffered a fractured kneecap during Game 1 of the 2015 Finals, leaving the Cavs shorthanded the rest of the way. A year ago, Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5, then Andrew Bogut suffered a knee injury that kept him out of Games 6 and 7.

Both teams are healthy heading into their “three-match” and both are ready to stake a claim to supremacy. There’s no arguing that the Warriors are the best in the West and the Cavs are the kings of the East. But who’s the top team in the NBA? We’re about to find out.

Who is your pick to win this year’s Finals? Please share your opinion in the comments section. We look forward to what you have to say.

Blake Griffin enters unrestricted free agency with some question marks but undoubtedly the Los Angeles Clippers star will wind up with a max contract. The big mystery is whether he’ll re-sign with the Clippers or seek a fresh start elsewhere.

The Clippers have the advantage of being able to offer him a five-year deal worth approximately $175MM. He would have to accept a maximum of four years and $130MM elsewhere but opt out clauses are often used by agents to circumvent those restrictions.

Griffin’s last two seasons have been sidetracked by injuries. He appeared in just 35 games in 2015/16 because of a quad injury. This past season, a knee injury limited him to 61 regular-season games. He missed the last four games of the opening-round playoff series against the Jazz with a toe injury that required surgery.

Griffin’s defense, and occasionally his character, has also been criticized. But there’s no denying his offensive talent. A power forward who can average 21.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG and 4.9 APG, as he did in his walk year, will have plenty of suitors on the market.

The Celtics, Wizards, Thunder and Heat are some of the teams expected to pursue him. Boston needs a big-time power forward to get over the hump in the Eastern Conference and Washington needs more balance to its backcourt-oriented attack. Griffin could return to his home state of Oklahoma and take some of the scoring and playmaking burden off Russell Westbrook. He could be “the man” for a club like Miami and even the Lakers could be an option, considering that he’d be surrounded with young talent and their No. 1 scoring option.

Of course, the Clippers will do everything they can to keep their core of Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan intact, despite the playoff flops in recent years.

That brings us to our question of the day: Which team do you think unrestricted free agent Blake Griffin will sign with and why?

Please take to the comments section and share your opinion on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

When Ohio State and Michigan were dominating Big 10 football in the 1970s, the conference was often referred to as the “Big 2 and the Little 8.” That same feeling has taken hold over the past three years in the NBA, which is turning into the Big 2 and the Little 28.

The Cavaliers and Warriors are preparing to meet in a third straight finals, which has felt inevitable since training camp. After winning 67 regular-season games, Golden State tore through the Western Conference playoffs with three straight sweeps. Cleveland nearly matched that in the East, with its only loss coming in Game 3 of the conference finals on a last-second shot.

The lack of competitiveness doesn’t bother Kevin Durant, who is largely responsible for it. The former MVP, who joined a record-setting Warriors team in free agency last summer, said to fans last week, “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”

But people are watching it. ABC’s ratings are up 5% from a year ago, and ESPN’s online audience has grown by 24%. Just as fan interest spiked when the Celtics and Lakers were battling for supremacy in the 1980s and when Michael Jordan’s Bulls ruled the league in the 1990s, fans seem drawn to the idea of superteams.

Whether sustained dominance will remain good for the league is an interesting question, but we have another one: How long can this last? No teams have ever met in three straight finals before, but the Cavs and Warriors look like overwhelming favorites to do this again next year, and possibly a few years after that.

Golden State is built around four elite players who are all still in the prime of their careers. Stephen Curry (age 29) and Durant (28) are both expected to sign long-term deals this summer. Klay Thompson (27) is inked through 2018/19, and Draymond Green (27) is under contract through 2019/20. The Warriors may have to juggle some pieces around them, but the core of this team should remain together for at least five more seasons.

Cleveland’s fortunes have risen and fallen with LeBron James since he entered the league in 2003. Now 32, he may be having the best postseason of his career, averaging 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists through 13 games. For all the talk about resting James, he appeared in 74 games and averaged a league-high 37.8 minutes per night. He doesn’t appear to be showing any effects of age, and with his physical conditioning he might be able to play five more years at an elite level.

If LeBron does slow down, the Cavs still have Kyrie Irving (25) and Kevin Love (28), who are both signed for two more seasons with player options in 2019/20.

Both teams are well positioned for the future, but obviously this can’t last forever. Considering their current rosters and their potential challengers in each conference, who do you believe misses the finals first, the Warriors or the Cavaliers?

The news that Hawks forward Paul Millsap will foresake the last $21.4MM on his current contract and become a free agent this summer was expected. Considering the lack of quality big men around the league and the recent jump in the salary cap, Millsap should do well in the open market and get several more years of guaranteed money.

Like former teammate and current Celtics big man Al Horford, Millsap will not turn a franchise around but he could help a playoff team get deeper into the postseason. Millsap, 32, posted career highs in scoring (18.1 PPG) and assists (3.7 APG) this season. He shot a career-low 44.2%, largely due to an increase in 3-point attempts.

The Hawks’ front office is in a state of flux, which could influence Millsap’s decision whether to re-sign with Atlanta or join forces with another playoff team. According to The Vertical’s Shams Charania, the Hawks regard Millsap as their top offseason priority.

The team that lands Millsap will not only get a versatile scorer and solid rebounder, they’ll also get an unselfish player who can guard multiple positions.

Which teams might make a run at Millsap? The Celtics might consider reuniting Millsap and Horford, considering the they don’t have an impact player alongside Horford and small forward Jae Crowder. The Raptors could be in the mix, depending upon what their own free agents decide to do. Same goes for the Clippers, with their top two players Chris Paul and Blake Griffin hitting the market at the same time.

The Spurs have become a haven for veteran free agent big men the last couple of seasons, so they could be a darkhouse in the Millsap sweepstakes. It would stand to reason that the Jazz could try to find another quality big man to insert between Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert, provided that Hayward doesn’t sign elsewhere.

There will also be plenty of other fringe playoff teams with cap space (Bulls, Heat, Nuggets, Pacers) that could make a run at Millsap.

That leads us to our question of the day: What team do you think would be the best fit for Paul Millsap?

Please take the comments section and share your thoughts. We look forward to your opinion on this topic.

The league announced the All-NBA teams for the 2016/17 season and we broke down the financial ramifications of the honors earlier today. Here are the players deemed worthy of being named All-NBA:

All-NBA First Team

• Guard: Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
• Guard: James Harden (Rockets)
• Forward: LeBron James (Cavaliers)
• Forward: Kawhi Leonard (Spurs)
• Center: Anthony Davis (Pelicans)

All-NBA Second Team

• Guard: Stephen Curry (Warriors)
• Guard: Isaiah Thomas (Celtics)
• Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
• Forward: Kevin Durant (Warriors)
• Center: Rudy Gobert (Jazz)

All-NBA Third Team

• Guard: John Wall (Wizards)
• Guard: DeMar DeRozan (Raptors)
• Forward: Jimmy Butler (Bulls)
• Forward: Draymond Green (Warriors)
• Center: DeAndre Jordan (Clippers)

Tonight’s topic is simple: Do you believe the voters got all 15 selections correct? If not, what is your biggest issue with the list?

DeMar DeRozan was not among the players on my All-NBA teams; I had Chris Paul as my sixth guard. The 32-year-old point guard put together one of his most effective seasons as a pro, leading the league in ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus. He made 47.6% of his shots from the field, including 41.1% of his 302 attempts from behind the arc. He sported a player efficiency rating of 26.2 and record 118 steals. He topped DeRozan in all those categories and despite playing 13 fewer games, he edged Toronto’s shooting guard in win shares as well as NBAMath’s Total Points Added metric.

DeRozan certainly had a great season and while his inclusion is not egregious, when talking about the best of the best, we must nitpick and split hairs to sort talent. Out of all the players who missed the cut, Paul probably has the biggest gripe (although, Draymond Green will tell you that Klay Thompson holds that distinction).

Tell us what you think. Did the voters get it right or should Paul, Thompson or someone else be on one of the All-NBA teams? Let us know in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!

The player on the Warriors that everyone is talking about right now isn’t named Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or Draymond Green. Rather, journeyman center Zaza Pachulia has been thrust into the spotlight in an unflattering manner.

Spurs star Kawhi Leonard injured his already tender left ankle during the third quarter in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals when Pachulia moved into Leonard’s landing spot after Leonard released a jump shot. Leonard did not return, which turned into a game-changing development. Golden State was able to wipe out a 25-point deficit and escape with a victory, something that probably wouldn’t have happened if Leonard had landed cleanly and remained in the game. Leonard is likely to miss Game 2 and his status for the remainder of the series is questionable.

Afterward, the Spurs’ franchise player was diplomatic and didn’t criticize Pachulia for the way he closed out defensively. Coach Gregg Popovich expressed a totally different viewpoint on Monday, ripping Pachulia for a “totally unnatural” act and said Pachulia has a history of careless and dangerous plays. Popovich added that it didn’t matter whether Pachulia intended to harm Leonard, comparing him to a driver who commits manslaughter because he or she was texting at the time.