Ranking the 16 playoff teams by title chances
16. Portland Trail Blazers
A Damian Lillard explosion or Jusuf Nurkic return could help Portland steal a game from the Warriors, but we're talking about a .500 ballclub going up against perhaps the most talented NBA team ever assembled. The Blazers' chances of escaping the first round - let alone winning the title - make Vince McMahon's entrance music their 2017 theme song.
15. Indiana Pacers
Paul George averaged nearly 31 points on 52-43-81 shooting over the final 12 games of the season, the Cavs' defense is in shambles, and Lance Stephenson is pissing people off while wearing a Pacers uniform again.
Still, while a LeBron-led team hasn't looked this vulnerable in almost a decade, expecting them to fall in round one is asking too much of Born Ready.
14. Atlanta Hawks
This seems low for a 5-seed, but the Hawks simply don't have the offensive talent to exploit Washington's porous defense in the opening round, let alone the firepower to get through a two-month playoff run.
Atlanta's offensive rating of 102.3 points per 100 possessions ranked 27th overall, and was more than two points worse than the second-worst offense to make the playoffs (Chicago, 104.6).
13. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have the versatility, the defensive length, and the elite talent (in Giannis Antetokounmpo) necessary for a spring run, but having to go through Toronto and Cleveland just to get to the East finals significantly decreases Milwaukee's chances of being the conference's Cinderella.
12. Chicago Bulls
The hype around Dwyane Wade's early return from a fractured elbow overshadowed the fact that the Bulls were better without Wade this season, but Chicago has the type of veteran talent that might just peak at the perfect time - which should worry the solid yet unspectacular Celtics - and they'd avoid Cleveland until the East finals.
That said, a team this anemic and starved for shooting (30th-ranked eFG%) isn't winning anything of significance in 2017.
11. Utah Jazz
There aren't 10 playoff teams better than the balanced Jazz, but bracket placement matters when talking title aspirations, and having to get through the Warriors before the West finals - after starting on the road against the Clippers - sinks Utah's hopes.
10. Los Angeles Clippers
Securing home-court advantage against the Jazz on the last night of the regular season boosts L.A.'s chances of advancing, but a looming second-round showdown with the Warriors means the Clippers are likely to enter an uncertain offseason still without a conference finals appearance to their name.
9. Memphis Grizzlies
The good news? Memphis avoided the Warriors' half of the West bracket. The bad news? Tony Allen's out indefinitely, and the Grizzlies limp into this weekend having lost five of their last six, and 14 of their final 21.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder boast one of the best players on the planet, own a top-10 defense, can overwhelm smaller teams on the boards, and are comfortable playing at any pace. If it wasn't for their league-worst 3-point shooting and a lack of general offensive support to relieve Russell Westbrook, they'd almost be tailor-made for the playoffs.
7. Boston Celtics
The importance of locking down home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and avoiding the Cavs through the first two rounds can't be overstated when discussing Boston's ceiling this spring, but the Celtics are far from a typical 1-seed.
Their unremarkable point differential, their 5-10 record against the East's top-five teams (12-13 versus all East playoff teams), and the question marks surrounding their offensive dependence on Isaiah Thomas - which compromises their defensive ability - all make the Celtics more ripe for an upset than ready to contend for a championship.
6. Washington Wizards
Lost in the Wizards' incredible turnaround - a 39-16 run after starting the year 2-8 - is the fact Washington played sub-.500 ball (8-9) over the last month of the season and finished 20th in defensive efficiency.
As concerning as that may be, Washington's top-tier talent is more playoff-sustainable than Boston's, and this Wizards core has proven it can kick into another gear in the postseason.
In a wide-open, 1-8-4-5 half of the East bracket, that extra gear gives them a slight edge over the Celtics, even without home-court advantage.
5. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors were the only East team to finish top 10 on both ends of the court, went 18-7 following the acquisitions of Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker (during which time they boasted a top-four defense), won 12 of their final 14 games, and got Kyle Lowry back with a few regular-season games to spare.
DeMar DeRozan spent the season navigating and beating the types of defensive traps that have traditionally neutralized him in the playoffs, and Dwane Casey found a variety of versatile defensive lineups he didn't have the luxury of throwing at Cleveland last May.
Toronto may not beat LeBron James four times in seven games, but the Raptors are as well-equipped to do so as any East challenger has been in four or five years.
4. Houston Rockets
The dramatic variance that comes with relying on outside shooting as much as the Rockets do (46.2 percent of their field-goal attempts came from behind the arc) makes them susceptible to an upset, but it might also give them the best shot at actually beating the Warriors. Plus, with James Harden running Mike D'Antoni's offense and collapsing defenses, Houston should continue to generate a ton of good looks.
Though the Rockets might have the biggest boom-or-bust potential of any playoff team, they did win 55 games, their defense (18th) held up better than anyone thought it would, and they have a top-five player in his prime. Houston makes the cut as at least a fringe contender.
3. San Antonio Spurs
It sounds ludicrous, but the Spurs may be the biggest question mark in this tournament.
San Antonio's a 61-win juggernaut that outscored opponents by more than seven points per game. Kawhi Leonard might have surpassed LeBron as the game's best (or at least most consistent) two-way player. Gregg Popovich once again oversaw the league's stingiest defense.
On the other hand, for all their depth, the Spurs' third-best player might be one of Patty Mills or Pau Gasol, and it's been proven time and time again that depth matters a lot less in the postseason, when teams ride their top stars. The Spurs have already found that out the hard way, having been eliminated by the more top-heavy Clippers and Thunder in the last two years.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
They've been a merely average team for three months now (23-23 since Jan. 10), lost 15 of their final 26 games, and own the worst defense of all 16 playoff participants.
Yet even during that 11-15 finish, the Cavs managed to perform like an elite team (plus-7.2 per 100 possessions) with LeBron on the court, and Cleveland went a combined 8-3 against Toronto, Washington, and Boston. The champs remain the favorites to get through the East, and if you have King James on your side when The Finals tip off, you always have at least a puncher's chance of being the last team standing.
1. Golden State Warriors
What's left to say? The Warriors came within 0.2 points allowed per 100 possessions of matching their No. 1 offense with the league's No. 1 defense. They posted a better point differential than they did while winning 73 games last year. They employ two MVP caliber talents and four All-Stars, won 15 of their final 16 games, and, in the span of four nights in March, beat the Spurs and Rockets three times without Kevin Durant.
It's going to take a team catching some kind of magical hot streak - or perhaps a couple of significant Golden State injuries - to derail what otherwise looks like a two-month coronation.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)