All eyes on Warriors as NBA playoffs begin

The Golden State Warriors, winners of an NBA-record 73 regular-season games, begin their quest for a championship repeat when the playoffs begin Saturday.

San Antonio set a team record for wins in a season with 67 and will also be formidable in the postseason.

Meanwhile, LeBron James is back at it again, trying to bring the city of Cleveland its first world title since Jim Brown led the Browns to the 1964 NFL title. And the Toronto Raptors are vying to become the first team from a non-American city to capture an NBA title.

Here are the five playoff storylines to watch:

What did winning 73 games do for Golden State?

It’ll be interesting to see if the Warriors have anything left after breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record for victories in a season. They appear poised to repeat with sharpshooter Stephen Curry.

Can LeBron deliver a title in Cleveland?

The Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals last season in LeBron James’ second tour of duty with Cleveland, but failed to obtain the ultimate prize. Now, he needs to complete the deal in a year in which the Cavaliers changed coaches in the middle of the season, but still found a way to finish first in the Eastern Conference.

Don’t sleep on the Spurs

Since the odds are that either the Spurs or Warriors will fight through the 16-team playoff format and emerge as this year’s NBA champions, the much older Spurs have to outlast the much younger Warriors. Tweaking their roster with the additions of LaMarcus Aldridge and David West should help.

The Chris Paul watch

The clock is ticking on another year for Clippers veteran point guard Chris Paul, who has never gotten out of the second round of the playoffs since he joined the NBA in 2005. Paul has been to the playoffs seven times, and has reached the second round four times.

The Toronto X-factor

Even before the season started, no one took Toronto as a serious candidate to win the East. But the Raptors finished as the No. 2 seed, set a franchise record for wins with 56, and had the fourth-best record in the NBA. And just to prove they can play with the East’s top seed, the Raptors had a 2-1 record against Cleveland this season.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 4:33 PM with the headline "All eyes on Warriors as NBA playoffs begin."