Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo headline the NBA Cup finals. Both MVP candidates can utilize the national platform to boost their MVP cases. While the Thunder have been the league's best team, the Bucks are always a viable title threat and have recently played better.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to win the second NBA Cup with a win Tuesday over Milwaukee in Las Vegas and climb atop The Arizona Republic's NBA power rankings. A loss definitely won't drop them out of the top five.

The NBA, forced to deal with OKC’s rise, seems to be dismissing the Thunder’s jolly postgame antics and barking as mere yipping. OKC let it be known Saturday that there’s some bite, too.