Usually, NBA fans have a pretty good sense of who’s making it to the finals and probably winning it all. This is because LeBron James has been a permanent member of the NBA Finals for eight straight years before not being able to make it to the playoffs this year. LeBron’s absence in the playoffs hasn’t happened since 2005, and his absence creates many opportunities. LeBron’s teams have a chance of beating anybody on a given basis, and now the field is open for West teams to make a statement and potentially a miracle happen.

LeBron leaving the East in free agency has created serious speculation about the chances of teams in that conference making to the Finals as well. Nobody knows who is making it to the Finals, but everybody has an opinion, and now these opinions finally differ from the past eight years. Whether you have the Celtics, Bucks, 76ers, or Raptors making it to the Finals, nobody can safely say that their prediction is right. With LeBron in the playoffs, some people certainly think his team will win without giving anybody a chance that he’s facing, except for the Warriors.

With that, I get to the heavy favorite out of the Bay area. The Golden State Warriors are going for a three-peat at the title, which would be the first time since 1998 that that has happened. However, the Warriors are not the undefeatable this year, and cracks have started to show in their seemingly invincible armor. Let’s face it- Demarcus Cousins has not worked on this team. They win more when he’s not on the floor, analytically, they are better without him, and his attitude doesn’t help either. They just blew the largest lead in a single game in playoff history in a 31-point advantage to the Clippers. Even considering this loss, people still expect them to win the championship this year, especially with the rest of the top seeds in the West not really posing a challenge.

When LeBron strained his groin on Christmas Day, this might’ve been the unluckiest injury of all time considering this :

1. The Lakers were in 4th place in the Western Conference.
2. The Warriors are at their most vulnerable currently, and with an injury to a top guy like Steph or KD, probably won’t win.
3. The NBA is better when LeBron is playing. It’s as simple as that, folks. The ratings skyrocket when he’s on TV, and since he’s such a global figure, more people worldwide will pay attention to the league. Hopefully, the Lakers regroup and realize that LeBron is and has been the face of the NBA for a decade, and the league is better with him.

If you have any ideas you would like to express, feel free to share them in the comments below.