The Warriors and Cavaliers entered Monday a combined 15-0 in the playoffs this season and on a seeming collision course to meet in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive season.
That series, when it happens, figures to be a thrilling tiebreaker after Golden State won two years ago and Cleveland got its seven-game revenge last year, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit.
But here's an honest question: Will that one series be enough to make up for the fact that the rest of the NBA season, which starts in late October, really doesn't matter?
Is it really good that casual fans — let alone some of the best players in the world — can look at a situation several months in advance and basically know which two teams are going to make it to the finals?
These thoughts crept further to the forefront after reading recent comments made by Raptors guard Kyle Lowry to Yahoo's The Vertical. Toronto was predictably dispatched in four games by the Cavaliers, with the injured Lowry sitting out Game 4.
"They've got LeBron James. Nobody's closing the gap on him," Lowry said. "I mean, that's it right there: They've got LeBron James and nobody's closing the gap on him."
Lowry is one of the best players in the league. The Raptors have made the playoffs four seasons in a row. But he's a realist: A good team in the NBA has no chance to win a championship. Only great teams have a chance.
It's debatable how many teams qualify as great right now, but you could argue that it's two (and don't argue that the Raptors and Cavaliers had the same number of regular-season victories this year and are therefore equals).
