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The 2017-18 NBA season is a game of chess

By Wes Goldberg

BOSTON, MA - MAY 15: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics honors the National Anthem before the gameduring Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 15, 2017 at TD Garden in Boston, MA. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 15: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics honors the National Anthem before the gameduring Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 15, 2017 at TD Garden in Boston, MA. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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“I kind of compare chess to the game of basketball, just making the right reads, making the right decisions” — Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.

Jaylen Brown is squarely in the middle of a game of decisions. Captain of the chess club in high school and the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown is central to the Celtics revamp. He will be tasked with filling the void left by Jae Crowder — who was sent to the Cavaliers in a trade to acquire Kyrie Irving — and though he isn’t the polished player Crowder is, his ceiling is much higher. He’s bigger, faster and stronger, and his eye-popping athleticism made him one of the top high school recruits in the country two years ago. He can rebound from his butt. Crowder was good, but Brown has the potential to be a game changer.

Besides acquiring one of the best scorers in the NBA, the Celtics made room for Brown, and rookie Jayson Tatum, to develop. At the forward position, they took a step back to potentially leap forward.

Read More: Don’t take your eyes off LeBron James

If last season was setting up a chess board while waiting for the Cavaliers and Warriors to finish their game, this season is about opening moves by the league’s next contenders. Teams are positioning themselves to break through. They aren’t quite ready, perhaps, but plans are developing while others are being revealed. In giving up Crowder, Danny Ainge sacrificed a rook to make way for his bishop.

The Cavaliers, no doubt, take a step back. They didn’t anticipate Irving forcing a trade, but they are making do. Getting Isaiah Thomas and Crowder is a good return considering the circumstance, not to mention the Brooklyn Nets’ unprotected first round pick that they could either cash in or hold on to in the event of the worst-case scenario. Because they have LeBron James — the king of the NBA, but the greatest queen the basketball court has ever known because of his ability to do absolutely everything — the Cavaliers are still the favorites in the Eastern Conference. The gap between them and the rest of the field, however, is much narrower than it was last year.

It doesn’t take a Daryl Morey or a Sam Hinkie to see that the Milwaukee Bucks are a team to watch. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the playoffs last year and, despite losing to the Toronto Raptors in the first round, he led all players (on both teams) in points in four games, rebounds in three games and assists in one game during the series. LeBron is characterized as a queen on the chess board. So is Antetokounmpo. He entered last season as a tantalizing idea, but he took a leap and developed into a consensus top-10 player. The Bucks have a few more moves to make, but they’re well positioned and waiting for an opening.

The NBA has been dominated by wings for several years. Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and now, possibly, Antetokounmpo. In this respect, players like Antetokounmpo and Brown will play major roles in the next few years. Two picks ahead of Brown, Ben Simmons was drafted No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. His rookie season was postponed due to injury, but he’s set to play and the 76ers are poised to break out. The process of accumulating talent is beginning to coalesce into something resembling a cohesive basketball team. Simmons is uber-talented and has similar Super Glue-man abilities to LeBron and Antetokounmpo. Philadelphia’s star, though, is Joel Embiid, who represents a movement to big men once again dominating the league.

He, along with Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, are the pivot players who can tilt the NBA’s axis of power. In terms of opening moves, the Timberwolves came out swinging by trading for All-Star Jimmy Butler. Butler makes them competitive now, while Towns and Andrew Wiggins will prop open their championship window for years. Tom Thibodeau has his eyes on the king and he’s interested in “icing” it into checkmate sooner rather than later.

7-footers who can move all over the floor, like Embiid, Towns and Antetokounmpo, are redefining how the game is played. It’s their teams — the 76ers, Timberwolves and Bucks — that seem best positioned to knock off the Cavaliers and Warriors.

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In 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden, were poised to knock off the Miami Heat and dominate the league for the next decade. Things happened, and it turned out it was the Golden State Warriors who would lead the league’s revolution of 3-point shooting, switching defense and small ball. Dominant teams often come from unexpected places.

In Denver, center Nikola Jokic is doing things we’ve never seen from the center position. Embiid and Towns were top-three picks. Blue chippers. Jokic was taken with the No. 41 pick the same year as Embiid and is every bit as much a unicorn (and healthier). The Nuggets are a ways away, but Jokic is a king worth protecting and building around. Head coach Mike Malone was part of the staff that helped the Warriors rise to power. In chess, it’s often the pieces that are overlooked that can win a game.

As the mystery of the Warriors wears off and the Cavaliers open themselves up to attacks, these developing teams will look to advance. While the Celtics are threatening, this is chess on a multi-dimensional plain. Threats to topple what has been built can come from any which way. Every possible series of events is happening all at once. In other words: Chess is really hard. So, too, will be defeating the Cavaliers and Warriors. But the only way to win is to play and learn the opponent’s tendencies.

“I like learning how other people think,” Brown said. “I love to win. I’m super competitive. But sometimes, I just like to see how people think. If I’m getting to know you, I play you in a game of chess just to see how your mind works a little bit.”

Next: Nylon Calculus: Using math to predict the MVP race

One misstep can ruin even the best players. As the rest of the NBA develops their plans, they’ll study the Warriors and Cavaliers to see where they may be vulnerable. When there is inevitably an opening, someone will make their move.