David Lee’s play undoubtedly helped the Warriors get to the post-season, but without him, they’ve reached another level.

Whether or not Rose plays this season has been the dominant NBA storyline for the past few months.

Rondo’s lack of smarts when it comes to this stuff is more infuriating given the states of his team’s offense when he’s not on the court. Forget the Big-3, Rondo is now the Celtic’s franchise superstar. Everything revolves around him, and his team relies on him more than ever right now. They need him on the court playing like the transcendent, amazing player that he is, not playing the tough guy.

Like a mafia boss giving someone the kiss of death, Jim Buss’ assurances just a day ago, that Mike Brown was safe, were no more than empty rhetoric. The Lakers officially flipped the panic switch by firing Brown after just five games.

The Knicks played some of their best basketball last year when Stoudemire was hurt—with Anthony taking full control of the offense—and it seems like no coincidence that Stoudemire was at his best in a Knicks uniform before the trade that brought Anthony to MSG.

If everything comes together, you’re looking at a genuine threat in the Eastern Conference, but if the 76ers’ weaknesses on and off the court are exposed, the wheels could come off this team very quickly.

No team except the 1998-99 Portland Trailblazers has even succeeded in winning a single playoff series without an all-star on its roster. Those Blazers had players that went on to become all-stars later in their careers, but none had that designation on their resume during that aforementioned season.

Despite Joe Johnson’s consistently good, but never great, career thus far, he has been given a chance for a new start—a rebooting of sorts. Johnson has the opportunity to shine under the bright lights of New York, and live up to his superstar billing.

Now that LeBron James has his ring, and has dispelled the notion that he lacked the necessary intangibles to pair with all the amazing tangible facets of his game, the pressure is off. James will now pass that burden of pressure onto Dwight Howard.

Just like those ’91 Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat lost Game 1 to a team that was favored to beat them. And just like that Bulls team, their superstar’s championship-winning credentials were continually questioned. That discourse can end now.