DUOS TO WATCH

The days of the Big Three in the NBA are over. At least for now.

No more LeBron James- Dwyane Wade- Chris Bosh. Or James- Kyrie Irving- Kevin Love. Or Stephen Curry- Kevin Durant- Klay Thompson. Or Kevin Garnett- Paul PierceRay Allen.

As the 2018- 19 season ended and gave way to free agency, starstudded duos became the rage with teams attracted to the idea that two stars and bunch of talented, complementary players around them can win a title.

It’s LeBron James- Anthony Davis for the Lakers, Kawhi Leonard- Paul George for the Clippers, James Harden- Russell Westbrook for Houston, Joel Embiid- Ben Simmons for Philadelphia and Giannis Antetokounmpo- Khris Middleton for Milwaukee.

We left Kevin Durant ( now with Brooklyn) and Kyrie Irving off this list because Durant is not expected to play this season as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles. For the same reason, we didn’t include Thompson because he’s expected to miss a chunk of the season recovering from a knee injury. The same for Washington’s Bradley Beal and John Wall, who might not play this season as he recovers from an Achilles injury.

Besides James- Davis and Leonard- George, USA TODAY Sports looks at the other top duos to watch in 2019- 20:

❚ Harden- Westbrook, Rockets:

They might not be the best pairing in the league in terms of playing style, and it might take a while for things to fully mesh. But no other team in the league can say that it rosters two of the past three league MVP winners.

❚ Curry- Draymond Green, Warriors:

How are Curry and Green the team’s most important duo? They provide something distinguishable. Despite their differences, they share a play- making role and leadership duties that will help the Warriors remain a contender.

❚ Antetokounmpo- Middleton, Bucks:

Antetokounmpo, who ran away with the MVP award over Harden, and Middleton, who was selected to his first All- Star Game thanks to averages of 18.3 points, six rebounds and 4.3 assists, have the Bucks entering the season as a legitimate title contender.

❚ Damian Lillard- CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers:

Now in their seventh season together, Lillard and McCollum have established themselves as one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Both have averaged at least 20 points and shot at least 36% on 3- pointers in each of the past four seasons.

❚ Embiid- Simmons, 76ers:

It’s hard to find a better duo – offensively and defensively – in the Eastern Conference than Embiid and Simmons. Embiid made the All- NBA and All- Defensive second teams last season. Simmons is a tripledouble threat.

❚ Nikola Jokic- Jamal Murray, Nuggets:

Jokic is an MVP candidate, a triple- double threat and one of the top three passers. After his playoff performance last season ( 21.3 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds), Murray is knocking on the door of his first All- Star Game appearance. – Jeff Zillgitt, Mark Medina and A. J. Neuharth- Keusch