Chris Paul made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by leaving LA for the Houston Rockets. The tandem of James Harden and Paul will be double-trouble for a

lot of teams out west. The pair was hoping to be joined by Carmelo Anthony, but the 10-time All-Star landed elsewhere.

Speaking of Anthony, the star followed Paul George and

has teamed up with 2016-2017 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City to create a formidable Big 3 for the Thunder. This trio will be sure to bring excitement to

NBA fans.

Speaking of Anthony, the star followed Paul George and have teamed up with 2016-2017 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City to create a formidable Big 3 for the Thunder.

This trio will be sure to bring excitement to NBA fans.

Kyrie Irving decided he had enough of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and bolted to Boston. Kyrie is now the centerpiece of a dangerous Celtics team.

Though LeBron James lost Kyrie Irving, he gained a lot of help, including former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, All-Star Isaiah Thomas, and his former running mate in Miami, three-time champion

Dwyane Wade.

Ultimately, the San Antonio Spurs, the Rockets and the Thunder are top teams in the Western Conference, but they will not have enough to overcome the defending champion Golden State

Warriors. I can’t wait to see the first game where Russell Westbrook with his new Big 3 challenges the Warriors, though!

In the East, if the Celtics can get huge

contributions from second-year pro Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum, they may be able to surpass the Cavs in the regular season and the playoffs when teamed with Irving, Heyward,

and Al Horford.

I don’t think they will.  History tells me that in the NBA, the team with the best player wins more often than not. Though probably a little

past his prime, LeBron James is still the best player in the NBA, and when the dust clears from the 2018 NBA Playoffs, I still expect King James and the

Cavs to reign atop the Eastern Conference, an eighth-straight for King James.

In the 2018 NBA Finals, we will see the Cavs versus the Warriors for a fourth-straight year. The

result should be the same as it was a season ago, with the Warriors, led by Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green winning their second-straight NBA title.

Derrel Jazz Johnson is a Harlem-based sports and entertainment journalist.  Since entering the industry in 2010, he has covered President Barack Obama, Beyoncé, Floyd Mayweather, and LeBron James, has landed

one-on-one interviews with Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Mary J. Blige, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, and continues to pursue interviews and write about the world's biggest names in sports and entertainment.