Thursday, the Warriors and Cavaliers were who we thought they were.
So, yes, perhaps this season is what we thought it was going to be, after all.
The same Warriors who looked so ragged in their season-opening loss to the Spurs looked invincible in their dismantling of the Thunder just nine days later. And the Cavaliers? No, they didn't face a complete Celtics squad during a close but comfortable win Thursday, not with Boston missing Al Horford, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk. Still, it's clear through Cleveland's first five games, with a league-leading offensive rating of 115.3, that its stars are fitting in rather than out these days.
No need for subtweets.
It's natural now that many observers will return to the assumption that a Warriors-Cavaliers NBA Finals is inevitable, and perhaps it is. Perhaps that is this season's predetermined destination for a third straight time. Perhaps the GPS is already programmed, and while it offers several routes to travel -- some more roundabout than others, through locales like Boston, San Antonio, Los Angeles and even Toronto -- the end point is set. And that, in turn, ends any suspense.
Well, even if we know where this is going, we can still look out the window on the way there.
There's something to be said for the journey, and the scenery.
And there's been plenty to see so far.
The NBA has always emphasized its individuals, promoted its personalities, and that should allow it to overcome any fatigue with what may feel like a foregone conclusion regarding the NBA Finals. Certainly, the personalities on the Cavaliers and Warriors alone are sufficient to sustain six months of NBA news cycles.
Yet there's always something new, and there's always someone next, and that's in evidence already, as several players have expanded their games and will ultimately expand their profiles.
There's enough that's interesting to keep us all occupied, from James Harden's assist explosion after being unleashed by Mike D'Antoni, to DeMar DeRozan's scoring spike while playing in a way unconventional for this era, largely contained inside the arc.
There's Andrew Wiggins, shooting better than 50 percent from the floor for Minnesota while getting to the line nearly nine times per game; and Giannis Antetokounmpo, filling a boxscore like his name fills up the back of a Bucks jersey, both starting to fulfill the promise that many projected. For the more intrepid NBA observer, there's the less expected, more obscure breakouts of T.J. Warren in Phoenix and George Hill in Utah, each averaging more than 20 points early.
There are the little guys: Damian Lillard still beating buzzers for Portland, Isaiah Thomas still beating the odds for Boston, Kemba Walker and a connected Charlotte team beating down the door in the East. There's the eclectic assortment of emergent bigs -- from Hassan Whiteside to Steven Adams to Rudy Gobert to Andre Drummond -- trying to prove they're worth what they're earning, with only Whiteside's deal under $100 million, if just a smidge.
Drummond's Pistons are currently the best defensive team in the Eastern Conference based on points allowed. Drummond himself is pulling down just under 13 points and 14 boards a night, though he's barely over 40 percent from both the field and the free throw line.
Speaking of frustration, there is also fascination to be found in the no-win (almost literally) situations of John Wall in Washington, DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento and Anthony Davis in New Orleans, with those guys' heretofore superstar efforts resulting in a combined 2-12 record.
Getting back to the good, there's the chemistry experiment in Chicago, which is working well so far -- the Bulls are third in the NBA in assist average, second in the NBA at plus-11.5 ppg -- and the attempted reputation repairs by Derrick Rose in New York and Dwight Howard in Atlanta, the second of which is off to a strong start, as the Hawks' overall defense has been second to only the Clippers and their plus-12.8 point differential leads the NBA.
And, of course, you can't take your eyes entirely off Westbrook; the Warriors may have briefly detoured his revenge tour, but he'll get back on the highway, where the road rage will resume. He just may want to avoid the HOV lane when it does, since it's not clear yet whether he has a second passenger.
So, while it may be Finals or bust for the Cavaliers and Warriors, it need not be for the rest of us. The peripheral stuff is intriguing, too. Parity isn't promised in any sports league, not from top to bottom, and it's not always ideal, either, not if that means that that there's no team, or couple of teams, setting a standard. It's clear what the Cavaliers and Warriors are, and what they will likely be. It's also fairly clear where they're headed. And we can head there, too, just with our heads up, so we don't overlook everything else.
