2. Lack of regular season intrigue
The Cavaliers made it relatively clear late in the regular season. They didn’t care whether the team was a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. This led to Tyronn Lue and Co. resting Cleveland’s starters as the regular season drew to a conclusion. It didn’t really matter, as Cleveland would go on to win all seven of its road games in the Eastern Conference Finals, including three in Boston to wrap up its third consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
Out in the west coast, a lot was made about Steve Kerr’s decision to rest his four-best players in a nationally televised mid-March game against the San Antonio Spurs. It’s the very same game that saw San Antonio sit LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard.
Golden State would go on to lose the battle of the backups, setting into motion conversations about San Antonio potentially earning the top seed out west. Since giving his players rest at that point, Kerr saw his Warriors post a 31-2 record. Needless to say, it mattered very little.
We don’t yet know how the summer is going to play out. There are squads out there who might be able to contend with Cleveland and Golden State if they make some strong moves during the summer. San Antonio adding Chris Paul to the mix would be a prime example of this.
Even then, common logic seems to suggest that the two NBA Finals competitors over the past three seasons will sit among the game’s best in 2017-18 as well.
With an extended regular season that lasts from late October or early November to mid April, there’s growing concerns that fans will tune out the start of the year. Some won’t pay attention until after the All-Star Break. That could be minimized if a team like Golden State goes on another historic early-season run. But it surely is a concern for commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA.