james harden

It seems you can't have an NBA Eastern Conference final without LeBron James. Well, you haven't been able to since 2010. In fact, his team has won every Eastern Conference final since 2011, seven in a row. But James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will have to overcome the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the second round of the playoffs in order to try and make it a great eight.

They say to be the best, you must beat the best, and in the NBA playoffs, two proud past champions are teetering. In the West, the defending champion Golden State Warriors will start postseason play minus injured all-world guard Stephen Curry. In the East, the 2016 NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers haven't looked like themselves all season long. Are we about to see the crowning of new title holders?

In recent years, the pursuit of the NBA title has proven to be a two-horse race between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. They've met in the last three NBA Finals, with Golden State winning in the odd years (2015, 2017) and Cleveland in the even year (2016). But there's a new stud in the race this year and the Houston Rockets might be the thoroughbred to beat.

The Boston Celtics made their first appearance at Little Caesars Arena earlier this season and picked up right where they left off, whipping the Detroit Pistons 91-81. The Celtics have won three of four and five of seven from the Pistons, and are especially successful in Detroit. Boston has won four straight in the Motor City. The Pistons haven't vanquished the Celtics on their home court since Dec. 16, 2015.

No matter how you slice it, when the Houston Rockets meet up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Rockets slice and dice the T-Wolves. Houston has won three in a row from Minnesota. They have also taken 11 of the last 12 games between the two teams and 15 of the last 17. You have to go all the way back to the 2011-12 season to find Minnesota beating Houston more than once.

Houston will not have the services of the NBA's leading scorer on Tuesday night in a potential NBA Finals preview against the Atlanta Hawks.