Do Celtics, Anyone, Have a Chance Against Golden State This Year?

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Why the Warriors’ Chances at 2018 Title are Still Sky High

While Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks dominate the current NBA news, the Warriors are readying themselves to defend their second championship in the last three years as the NBA’s heavy favorite to win the 2018 Finals.

Golden State is getting the band back together after registering the league’s best offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage and true-shooting percentage during last year’s regular season. Although they were the Western Conference’s worst squad in terms of defensive rebounding, they were among the league’s top teams on the defensive end of the basketball.

With Paul George Out, Should the Pacers Tank?

Pacers star Paul George suffered a gruesome leg injury during Friday's Team USA scrimmage.

By Bennett Corcoran (@CorcoranNBA)

After a stellar start to the year in which the Pacers won 16 of their first 17 contests, Indiana self-destructed at the end of last season. Despite earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers were just 12-13 after the beginning of March.

Indy began the season as the NBA's best defensive team by a considerable margin, posting a defensive efficiency of 93.6 before the All Star break (per NBA Stats). However, the team finished with just a rating of 102.3 after that mark, and their offense continued to trudge inefficiently with a limited selection of shot-creators.

A large reason for this implosion was the strange disappearance of Roy Hibbert, who shot a putrid 37.5% over that 25 game stretch. His 4.5 rebounds per game over this same stretch was particularly head-scratching for someone as tall as 7'2''. Hibbert was still one of the best defenders in the league last season, posting a defensive rating of 98 (per Basketball-Reference), but with the team's defense struggling, Hibbert was nowhere to be found. This was not the Hibbert that torched the Miami Heat in the 2013 playoffs with 22.1 PPG and 10.4 RPG on 55.6% shooting.

Eastern Conference Finals Preview: (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (2) Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade (left) and LeBron James (right) are looking for a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

By The Numbers:

Indiana:
56-26 (35-6 Home; 21-20 Road)
PPG: 96.7 (24th); PPG Allowed: 92.4 (2nd)
+4.3 Average Scoring Margin (7th)
Off Rating: 101.4 (22nd); Def Rating: 96.8 (1st)
+4.6 Net Efficiency Rating (7th)

Miami:
54-28 (32-9 Home; 22-19 Road)
PPG: 102.2 (12th); PPG Allowed: 97.4 (5th)
+4.8 Average Scoring Margin (T-4th)
Off Rating: 109.0 (2nd); Def Rating: 102.9 (11th)
+6.1 Net Efficiency Rating (4th)

Season Series: Tied 2-2
Indiana 90, Miami 84 (December 10)
Miami 97, Indiana 94 (December 18)
Indiana 84, Miami 83 (March 26)
Miami 98, Indiana 86 (April 11)

East Round 1 Preview: (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks

Lance Stephenson and Kyle Korver should present the most interesting matchup in this first-round series.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

By The Numbers:

Indiana:
56-26 (35-6 Home; 21-20 Road)
PPG: 96.7 (24th); PPG Allowed: 92.4 (2nd)
+4.3 Average Scoring Margin (7th)
Off Rating: 101.4 (22nd); Def Rating: 96.8 (1st)
+4.6 Net Efficiency Rating (7th)

Atlanta:
38-44 (24-17 Home; 14-27 Road)
PPG: 101.0 (14th); PPG Allowed: 101.5 (15th)
-0.5 Average Scoring Margin (18th)
Off Rating: 103.2 (16th); Def Rating: 104.0 (14th)
-0.8 Net Efficiency Rating (18th)

Season Series: Tied 2-2
Atlanta 97, Indiana 87 (January 8)
Indiana 89, Atlanta 85 (February 4)
Indiana 108, Atlanta 98 (February 18)
Atlanta 107, Indiana 88 (April 6)

Points in The Paint: November 21

Paul George is shooting his way into the NBA's elite. (Flickr)

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Here are some storylines from the last week of basketball:

The Atlantic Division Is A Dumpster Fire

On Wednesday night, the 5-7 Philadelphia 76ers squared off against the 4-7 Toronto Raptors. Toronto won the game and took over possession of first place in the division. At 5-7.

The Raptors win was the first win by any team in the division since last Friday (when Brooklyn beat Phoenix by two). Since then, teams in the division have lost seventeen straight games when not playing each other. I'm not quite sure how it's possible.

As a matter of fact...

The Eastern Conference Is A Dumpster Fire

Studs and Duds: Chuck Norris and Tebow Jokes Return

Tim Tebow got the Walker Texas Ranger Bump this week.

By Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello

Studs and Duds is a weekly feature on Suite Sports. Who had a good week? Who had a bad week?

Studs

LeBron James

I had a realization last weekend, but really it was something I'd always known. My nephew Michael and I were talking hoops and football, and the subject turned to how LeBron James was just an absurd force of nature. I then said that he was the best athlete on the planet. There were people bigger, people stronger, people that could jump higher and people faster, but nobody had the combination of those attributes like LeBron.