This was supposed to be the year that time ran out for the Warriors and the Cavaliers.
After three consecutive seasons with the best record in basketball and two N.B.A. titles, the Golden State Warriors finished seven games behind the Houston Rockets in the West. Their star Stephen Curry missed the end of the season and the start of the playoffs with a knee injury.
In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers increasingly looked like a one-man team, with LeBron James carrying them to victories. They could manage only the fourth seed, and squeaked by the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs in seven games, despite being outscored by 40 points in total.