By David Thorpe

Have you seen those nature videos where a killer whale catches a seal and, instead of devouring it, perhaps out of boredom, just tosses it around a bit first? It’s sadistic. And it reminds me of this year’s Warriors. They are the killer whale, the rest of the league is the seal. They’ll buckle down in the playoffs and—with all the normal caveats about injuries or outlandish surprises—will waltz to a title.

Unless … there is one team that could conceivably stop them, and that’s the Bucks. They’re not toying with anybody—they're devouring. Under Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee has been nearly unbeatable at home. It’s not common for any team to be top three in both offensive and defensive efficiency, yet this year the Bucks are number one on defense and third on offense. Teams that do that tend to win titles. In fact, by just about every numerical measure, the Bucks have been by far the best team this regular season. If you’re projecting based on trusted things like margin of …