National Basketball Association

Starting Five: The cream rises at crunch time

Published May. 19, 2015 2:17 p.m. ET

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With the NBA field whittled to four, here are some burning issues on this week's docket.

One week ago, inspired by Phil Jackon's Twitter tweak of the analytics crowd, we provided a reminder that there are several ways to efficiently generate NBA offense.

The specific targets of PJ's jab were those who embrace a reliance on the 3-point shot. And now that the Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies have been vanquished, we notice the league's final four offers teams that all were ranked among the top seven (regular season) for percentage of shot attempts taken from behind the arc.

The four teams still standing rank 1 (Golden State), 2 (Cleveland), 3 (Atlanta) and 4 (Houston) in the same category when the numbers are limited to playoff competition.

While the metrics crowd crows a little, please note that defensive work from these same teams didn't exactly hurt their opportunities to advance, either.

The Warriors were first overall (regular season) for defensive efficiency, while the Hawks were sixth, the Rockets eighth and the Cavaliers 18th. It should be pointed out that without Kevin Love, Cleveland limited the Chicago Bulls to 91.2 points per game on 40-percent shooting.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Rockets are playing at a faster pace in the playoffs than during the regular season.

For the third year in a row, the NBA's playoff final four has gone according to seed, with the top-two ranked teams in each conference reaching this stage.

The Western Conference has had its top two seeds reaching for the finals for a fourth consecutive season.

Oh, and you know the assumption that the game will slow down during the postseason? Well, it's true ... sort of. After hustling up and down for 98.3 possessions per 48 minutes during the regular season, the Golden State Warriors check in at 91.9 for the playoffs.

And with LeBron James walking the ball down the floor, the Cleveland Cavaliers have dipped from an already-plodding 92.3 to 89.8.

But with shooting percentages also down in the postseason, you'd think there would be more fast-break potential, right?

Well, that's what happened in Houston, where the Rockets are playing faster (96.5 in the regular season to 102.5). So are the Atlanta Hawks, who have gone from 93.9 to a slightly quicker 94.4.

It should be noted these pace issues also are affected by the opposition. The Warriors, for example, were obliged to waltz — and play their league's-most-efficient defense — against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Rockets' speedy tempo certainly didn't suffer while matched against the run-oriented Los Angeles Clippers.

By the way, let's not make too much of the Cavs' 1-3 record against the Hawks (1-2 when LeBron was playing) this season.

While it's true James is working without Kevin Love now and Kyrie Irving isn't exactly 100 percent, the Hawks also will have to slow him down without Thabo Sefolosha.

What's more concerning for James' fans is LBJ's jumper.

He's shooting 15 percent from 3 in the postseason, 34 percent between 16 feet and the arc, and 37 percent between 10 feet and 15 feet.

Kentucky big man Willie Cauley-Stein apparenty made quite an impression on NBA executives at the pre-draft combine.

With the pre-draft combine in Chicago in our rearview mirror, let's take a look at some of the participants who did themselves proud.

Kentucky run-jump post player Willie Cauley-Stein reportedly has tempted teams to consider him even earlier due to his engaging personality and seeming understanding of the interview process. Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird reportedly told Cauley-Stein, "I think you're a $100 million-dollar player."

Texas freshman center-forward Myles Turner checked in (as expected) with really long arms and may have eased concerns about his unorthodox running mechanics after his agent commissioned medical experts to explain why his gait is broken and how it can be improved.

Conversely, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky — college basketball's Player of the Year — allegedly slipped a bit because he doesn't have long arms.

Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton played well in the 5-on-5 scrimmages and triggered some serious buzz by recording a vertical leap (off of one leg) of 44 inches. Unfortunately, his reach measured almost four inches less than it was at the Portsmouth camp. But getting 40 inches off the floor, shooting lights out from deep and having enough athleticism to be a pro pitching prospect certainly puts him solidly on the radar.

Please note players expected to come off the board early rarely do more at these events than submit to team interviews.

During the post-mortem of the Chicago Bulls' second-round loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it has been posited that tensions have been building between Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose.

With Butler developing into a near-primary scoring option and hunting shots, Rose — according to this premise — is finding less room to maneuver.

Having a healthy Pau Gasol would have created even less available driving space but might have afforded the Bulls with a better chance to score against Cleveland. But that's another issue.

-- Another case of team disharmony surfaced in Los Angeles, where the Clippers staggered into the off-season with reports that free-agent-to-be DeAndre Jordan isn't a big fan of teammate Chris Paul. According to this particular scuttlebutt, Paul's interpretation of leadership can rub other Clippers the wrong way, and Jordan — a native Texan — could move all the way to Dallas.

We're not sure how leaving the pass-first stylings of Paul and the playmaking skill of Blake Griffin — in exchange for those of aging Dirk Nowitzki and snappy dresser Chandler Parsons — will elevate Jordan's career.

If he could make free throws, Jordan, Paul and the Clippers might be in the conference finals.

-- While we wait for a long-term game of chicken between the Bulls and Coach Tom Thibodeau to be reconciled, Golden State assistant coach Alvin Gentry has emerged as a candidate for head-coaching consideration in New Orleans ... and Chicago.

MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors swept four regular-season matchups against MVP runner-up James Harden and the Rockets.

In sizing up the Western Conference battle between Houston and Golden State, we're going to avoid putting too much emphasis on the Warriors' four-game, regular-season sweep of the Rockets. Both teams (especially the Rockets) are considerably different these days.

The matchup brings together the top two finishers in this season's Most Valuable Player voting. And even though winner Steph Curry and runner-up James Harden probably won't check each other that often, their respective impact on the series should be obvious.

Curry has been rolling since the Warriors fell behind the Memphis Grizzlies, 2-1, in the Western Conference semifinals. His postseason player-efficiency rating is 24.5 (according to basketball-reference.com), compared with a regular-season number of 28.0. Curry's three-game surge has lifted his 3-point percentage to 41.1 in the playoffs, but still down from 44.3 in the regular season.

Although Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley isn't expected to participate in this series, expect Houston to use longer, younger defenders (Corey Brewer?) to help Jason Terry against Curry.

Harden, who's expected to draw two-way star Klay Thompson of Golden State in most matchups, had a regular-season PER of 26.7. He's at 24.0 for the playoffs. With his teammates taking up the slack, however, Harden's assist numbers have risen.

The last time the top two finishers in the MVP voting squared off in the postseason was 2012, when LeBron James (the winner) and his Miami Heat defeated Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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