Michael Conroy/AP
Joel Embiid. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kawhi Leonard. Zion Williamson. The usuals.
Jimmy Butler. Julius Randle. Kristaps Porzingis. Maxi Kleber. Bojan Bogdanovic. Jarrett Allen. Mitchell Robinson. The unexpected.
And here we are again. The same.
This column was supposed to be strictly about the epidemic that has plagued the league for years during the playoffs, and how this year had reached the point where something had to be discussed as openly as a congressional hearing or a former president’s court trial. Figuring out why the league not only is not what it once was, but how it continues to never live up to what it could and should be every year, stunting its own growth by making “the best ability is availability” a thing.