LeBron James is Thor. Jayson Tatum is Spiderman. And the NBA conference finals are Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War.

The best time of year has arrived — the time when blockbuster movies are rattling movie theaters and, more importantly, when the NBA is simmering to a boil. So instead of giving you another tepid preview that grows pedantic about pick and rolls and long two-point shots, this bit is simple: it compares players to Avengers. 

This league is, after all, a player- and matchup-centric league.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Thor, vist TD Garden and the Boston Celtics, led by Vision and Spiderman, on Sunday afternoon in a series that pits completely different teams against each other. One is led by the best player in the world surrounded by a haphazard collection of sidekicks. And the other is spearheaded by a genius coach leading a precocious gaggle of players who are supposedly inexperienced and green, but who are nonetheless pushing onward without injured stars Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving.

All season long, it seemed like the Celtics were tenuously held together. Many picked a solid Milwaukee Bucks team to expose Boston's lack of firepower in round one. Then even more people picked the Philadelphia 76ers to win. Neither of those things happened, but you can be sure an even greater number of people will be picking James and the Cavs on this penultimate stage. That won’t frighten Boston one bit. 

LeBron on the @celtics and Brad Stevens as we prepare to travel for Game 1.

?: https://t.co/MIi5qZOWCi#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/R3kRjhlJHP

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 11, 2018

In Cleveland, the main question is whether James’ teammates can bumps on a log. When they play well, that’s good news for the Cavs. When they don’t, Cleveland still sometimes wins because LeBron James is, after all these years, LeBron James.

THE CAVS

LeBron James is THOR

Like the god of thunder, LeBron James is basically divine; like the god of thunder in Infinity Wars, LeBron James isn’t just heir to the throne — the throne is already his.

The King is shooting a torrid 55 percent from the field while averaging 34 points per game in the postseason, and sinking approximately 33 game-winning shots per game — which isn’t even mathematically possible. 

The fact of the matter is that James can do things no other player on the planet can do, and when he’s doing those things — absurd fadeaways creating acres of space, charging the basket like a runaway train, bullying opponents in the paint — there’s not a whole lot opponents can do. 

Kevin Love is the WINTER SOLDIER

Moody and erratic, the Winter Soldier is the perfect encapsulation of Kevin Love. Sometimes Bucky is fantastic, fighting alongside the main character and doing great work. For Love, this looks like game four of the Raptors series when he went an efficient 8-13 from the field for 23 points. Or again the game before: 7-14 for 21 points along with 16 rebounds. That’s the help LeBron needs if he wants a fighting chance to win another title.

Other times, though, Bucky is completely absent. In the game six blowout to the Pacers, for example, he put up a paltry seven points 

Kyle Korver is FALCON

Falcon shoots; so does Kyle Korver. Sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade.

J. R. Smith is LOKI

The thing about Loki, and J. R. Smith, too, is that you don’t know if he’s a good guy or a bad guy. Sometimes he’s a bad guy (The Avengers), sometimes he’s a good guy for the most part (Thor: Ragarok), and other times he’s kind of good and kind of bad. Cleveland’s favorite shooting guard is essentially the same. But for both the character and the player, one thing remains true: a devilish charm, an uncanny fascination. 

Boston doesn't bend the knee to anyone #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/ALYggFWV3t

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 12, 2018

THE CELTICS

Al Horford is VISION

Stoic, wise, and pensive, Vision is a character who always makes you wonder what he’s really capable of throughout the Avengers series. There’s the one scene in particular, in Captain America: Civil War, in which he grows to become the size of a building when all the good guys are fighting each other. 

Al Horford is clearly the undisputed leader of this Celtics team which is constantly overachieving with younger, more inexperienced players. His game is complex, his athleticism a sort of understated fluidity, and he provides a point of reference even if he’s not the go-to guy night in and night out. He really is one of the most intriguing players in the game, and a model for what a dynamic center can facilitate on a talented roster. 

Jayson Tatum is SPIDERMAN

The latest rendering of Spiderman is the embodiment of the word precocious — the kid is just that: a kid. He’s young, spunky, funny, and doing things that are way above his pay grade. And the same could certainly be said for Jayson Tatum. The third overall draft back is flying under the radar no longer, because he’s still balling while Rookie of the Year favorites Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are at home.

In both close-out games so far versus the 76ers and Bucks, Tatum has showed up big. Against Milwaukee he stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and against the 76ers he dropped a cool 25 on 15 shots, showing the exact kind of killer instinct you want. 

Terry Rozier is STAR-LORD

Yet another spunky young superhero, Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord leads because he has a chip on his shoulder and he’s out trying to prove everyone wrong. 

Boston’s point guard shouldn’t be the starting point guard, but he’s here. 

Jaylen Brown is GROOT

If you haven’t yet seen Infinity War, angsty teenage Groot is one reason why you should ASAP. While Jaylen Brown doesn’t seem particularly angsty, he is somewhat erratic. He’ll drop two points once game and 34 the next.

The same could be said for this entire Celtics team, really, especially the younger players, and that’s why the superheroes with whom they’ve aligned are, for the most part, the young ones of the series. Young players don’t typically have the strength to each individually show up for each individual game; none of these kids is LeBron James. But, collectively, they’ve made it to this point, and with Brad Stevens at the helm they’ve got a legitimate chance at defeating Cleveland.

The Verdict 

The main, obvious narratives of this series are too compelling to shirk, and any writer who comes in with some gnostic take about an underlying thread should be avoided. This a series about LeBron James and whether or not Brad Stevens can draw something up can stop him. This is a series about the NBA’s biggest and most imposing superstar versus a team conspicuously without their superstars. 

Boston not only has Stevens, but boasts a number of athletic defenders who can take turns trying to slow down James. They can shoot. Their energy is unending. But at the end of the day the King is the King.

Prediction: Cleveland in six.