Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
In the waning minutes of Brooklyn’s 123-109 series clinching win over Boston, the TNT cameras captured a terrifying image: Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving leaning against a table, laughing and smiling, three healthy NBA superstars seemingly in lockstep with each other. For conference rivals, that image is as frightening as they get.