[BobbyColtrane]

Bracket incoming, stand by

With the Playoffs beginning this week, here's a look at the top storylines heading into the NBA's real season:

1. How far can the Pelicans go?
With the breakup of the Warriors, the Pelicans were able to step up and fill the power vacuum created when Kevin Durant left Oakland for Seattle. The Pels were the most consistent team all year, and go into the playoffs with home court advantage.

But four of New Orleans' starters are 23 or under, the only exception being the 35 year old Kyle Lowry. Can RJ Barrett and Jayson Tatum lead the young Pelicans to the Finals?

2. Will the Celtics investment in a superteam pay dividends?
Its make or break time for the Celtics, who had the highest payroll in NBA history this year at $165 million, including a luxury tax bill of a whopping $38 million. With Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving on the books next year for $61 million, and Gordon Hayward making $34 million in the final year of his contract, this may be the C's best chance at a title since 2008.

They will face an improved Eastern Conference, with Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New York looking to make strong runs. And don't forget the Minnesota Timberwolves, who made the Western Conference Finals last season before moving to the East as part of NBA expansion this year.

3. Phoenix – real contenders or just another hot streak?
If there is one team striking fear into the hearts of everyone, it's the Phoenix Suns. Since The All-Star break, the Suns are 34-5, which would make them one of the greatest teams of all time if they could sustain that across 82 games.

Seven Suns average double figures, led by Deandre Ayton, who has become one a top-10 player in the league. The emergence of 2nd-year guard Ja Morant and Devin Booker's continued excellence has Phoenix primed for a Finals appearance for the first time since 1993.

4. Giannis versus the MVP

In just his 2nd year in the league, Zion Williamson has captured the league MVP, with averages of 26.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo probably thought he would have an MVP by now, after losing to Steph Curry and Zion the past 2 seasons. At his peak, Zion is the best player in the game today, a tornado of dunks, rebounds, pinpoint passing and open court brilliance. But at 6'11”, with athleticism to match, Giannis will be a formidable matchup for the young star. The Greek Freak put up stats nearly as good as Zion's – 24.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.

This series may well come down to the supporting cast. Milwaukee traded for Victor Oladipo at the deadline with just this kind of series in mind, but the results in the regular season were disappointing. Oladipo averaged just 14.5 points in March and April, and the Bucks front office have to wonder if they made the right trade. A strong postseason could make Giannis's upcoming free agent decision a slam dunk. But should the Bucks stumble, the rest of the NBA will be licking their chops to court Giannis this summer.

5. How far can the Spurs go?

A second straight treadmill year for the Spurs finds them with the West's 4th seed, staring down LeBron James once again in the first round. Since winning an unlikely title 2 years ago, San Antonio hasn't been able to put together a roster competing at the league's highest level. While San Antonio boasts a strong core of young players in Dragan Bender, Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker and Luka Samanic, none of those players have grabbed the reins of the team and established themselves as a dominant player. Bender's breakout performance this year somewhat covered for Murray's season, which was good, but didn't meet expectations. Despite increasing his scoring average for the 5th consecutive year (2nd on the team at 17.4 points per game), Murray has yet to show that he can be a consistent #1 option on offense.

With $41mm in cap room this summer, San Antonio will have a huge decision to make this summer – whether to try to sign a headline player, or continue to be patient and give Murray another year or two to see if he can become this team's unquestioned star.