The last time any NBA team other than the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers were in the Finals, I was graduating high school, and the San Antonio Spurs had won their last championship in the Duncan-Poppovich era. The last time Lebron James missed the Finals was 2010 when Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to a seven-game series win over the Celtics in yet another chapter of the greatest in basketball history.

Don't get me wrong, Lebron is a great player, and still has plenty of years left in the tank, but to say I want to see something different would be an understatement.

Fortunately, I see a few teams that could challenge the status quo, and hopefully break the streak of Lebron versus Steph Curry in Finals appearances. So let's look at each conference standings and see which teams might present the biggest problems.

In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors lead the way, followed by Boston and Cleveland. The Philadelphia 76ers are cruising right now and have won 11 straight games. The Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Milwaukee Bucks take home the 5-8 seeds.

In the East, I would have to say the Celtics have the best chance of taking down the Cavs. Toronto is notorious for choking in big series, and Philadelphia will have to find ways to keep winning without Joel Embiid, as he is down for at least the first round with an orbital bone fracture after a collision with Markelle Fultz.

Kyrie Irving has been down with a knee injury, so they will need him back, and if, and this is a big if here considering how severe the injury was, they get Gordon Hayward back in game shape in time for the playoffs, and he delivers in limited minutes, the C's push the Cavs out of the playoffs and move on for a chance at their 18th banner.

Out in the Western Conference, the Warriors are the number two seed, trailing the Houston Rockets. The Portland Trailblazers sit in the 3rd slot, right ahead of the Utah Jazz. The Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves take 5-7, and the 8th seed is a duel between the reeling New Orleans Pelicans and the Denver Nuggets.

There are a couple of teams that could challenge the Warriors. Let's start off with the Rockets, who own the best record in the NBA and have a two-headed monster of James Harden (the likely MVP) and Chris Paul. Their depth of the bench can compete with starting lines of other teams. If they don't fall in the first round trap, they should make the finals.

The other team I look at that could give the Warriors fits is the team they play in the first round if everything holds: Minnesota. They have been on a bit of a decline of late, but they are really missing Jimmy Butler right now. When Butler was in the lineup, the Wolves were in the 3rd or 4th spot consistently. Under former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, Minnesota is primed to make a push once Butler returns.

I will stand by some personal convictions regarding this years Finals. I don't watch a lot of basketball anyway (no ill-will towards the game, just not into it enough to make the conscious effort to watch). But I will absolutely refuse to watch Golden State v Cleveland, round four.

And if that is what the match up is, the NBA is going to head towards a downward spiral that will take years to recover from.