(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

At least four games have now been played in every first-round NBA Playoffs series. Cleveland and Golden State have already advanced after four-game sweeps, and Oklahoma City faces elimination Tuesday night.

But with the other five series set to go at least six games, this is a good point to pause, exhale for a quick second and take stock of what’s going on in this NBA postseason. These are the six most important questions in the league right now, beginning with a team that was just eliminated from NBA Playoffs competition.

What Does Paul George’s Future Hold?

After being swept in the first round by Cleveland— another year in which LeBron James ended the Pacers’ season— Indiana All-Star forward Paul George is closer to an inevitable decision that will define not just his NBA career, but the course of the Pacers franchise.

Does he stay in Indiana or force his way elsewhere to a team like his hometown Lakers, where he could potentially be in a better situation for his pursuit of an NBA title? If George is named to an All-NBA team this year, he’d be eligible for the designated player super-max contract, which would pay him upwards of $200 million to re-sign with the Pacers. Money like that is hard to pass up.

Is George destined to be a player like Reggie Miller or John Stockton, who spent their entire careers with one team and failed to win an NBA title? Or will he exit like Kevin Garnett, Karl Malone or Charles Barkley to depart a team that may end up retiring his jersey in pursuit of a ring?

After another season of failing to reach expectations as an organization, Indiana’s proverbial elephant in the room looms larger by the day.

Can The Bulls Counterpunch?

After being upset over the first two games of the series in Boston, the Celtics fought back with two big wins in Chicago, where the defense was the focus in severely limiting the Bulls offense. The Celtics did what they did best defensively, holding the Bulls to 5-of-24 shooting from three in Sunday’s Game 4 win.

If the Bulls are going to respond in Wednesday’s Game 5, they need to figure out the point guard position following Rajon Rondo’s broken right thumb. Jerian Grant started Game 4, but played just five minutes as Boston outscored Chicago by 10 points while he was on the floor. Isaiah Caanan played 34 minutes and was a plus-11 while scoring 13 points and not turning the ball over at all.

If the Bulls can get the point guard spot right, shoot the ball well from three and get better performances from Dwyane Wade and Robin Lopez, Chicago may not fade away in this series after all.

Can Toronto’s Backcourt Deliver?

The Raptors’ defense has been unquestionably superb in this series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Toronto’s inconsistent offense is the only reason Milwaukee is still in this series, thanks to a pair of no-shows from the Raps’ All-Star backcourt.

In Game 1, Toronto lost by 14 as Kyle Lowry managed just four points. In an embarrassing Game 3 loss on Thursday, DeMar DeRozan scored only eight points and missed all eight of his field goal attempts. Then the Raptors backcourt finally came to life, thanks to head coach Dwane Casey.

Casey began using a three-guard lineup by inserting Norman Powell to the lineup, and it paid immediate dividends. Powell scored 12 points in Game 4, and the Lowry-DeRozan duo combined for 51 in Game 4 to even the series. Powell then followed that up by pouring in 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting in a 118-93 win that felt like the offensive breakout the Raptors were waiting for.

With the backcourt now at three players, Toronto’s offense finally woke from its annual postseason doldrums.

What is Steve Kerr’s Coaching Future?

The Golden State Warriors’ sweep of Portland isn’t the biggest piece of news, but head coach Steve Kerr’s indefinite absence from the sidelines — with continued complications following a back surgery gone wrong during the 2015 offseason — is causing speculation that his entire coaching career could be at risk.

It would be sad to see him go, but he’d have to if his long-term physical and mental health is truly being impacted as much as it seems like it is. Kerr would go down as one of NBA history’s most successful coaches in what would be such a relatively short stretch. If Kerr’s health forced him to step aside, would he stay in a front office position with the Warriors alongside general manager and friend Bob Myers? Would he go back into broadcasting, where he excelled with Turner Sports? Who knows?

Obviously, this kind of talk is premature right now. But perhaps Golden State would be wise to begin to envision life without Kerr as its head coach.

That Reporter Was Right. How Does OKC Respond?

If you’re a big NBA fan, you probably saw the Thunder press conference following their Game 4 loss to Houston on Sunday. With Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams sitting at the podium, a reporter rightfully asked Adams why Oklahoma City was performing poorly when Westbrook wasn’t on the floor. Westbrook showed poor decorum in not only deflecting the reporter’s question, but refusing to let Adams answer the question for himself.

The problem for the Thunder is that the reporter was right, and OKC needs to play a lot better when Westbrook sits if it wants any chance at hanging around in this series against Houston for much longer. The Thunder are plus-11, plus-3 and plus-14 over the last three games when Westbrook is on the floor, but OKC has lost two of those games.

Houston’s bench outscored the Thunder reserves 64-22 on Sunday, led by Nene’s 28 points on 12-of-12 shooting on Sunday, and the Rockets only went eight deep on Sunday. Unless OKC responds on Tuesday, Westbrook’s postgame press conference following Game 5 may be his last of the season.

Who Will Survive The War Of Uncertain Futures?

Rudy Gobert got hurt in the first minute of the series. Blake Griffin’s injured toe will keep him out for the rest of the playoffs. But as Gobert returned to score 15 points and grab 13 points in Game 4, Utah won both its games over the Clippers in this series through divine intervention: Joe Jesus.

Johnson hit the game-winner in the series opener and scored a game-high 28 points in a Game 4 victory that evened the series as the Jazz and Clippers headed back to Los Angeles. The loser of this series will have some tough questions to answer this offseason.

For L.A., Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick could all leave this offseason. Gordon Hayward and George Hill could do the same for Utah. A first-round exit would be bad optics for both teams. One team will advance to probably get steamrolled by Golden State in round two. The loser will face a lot of hard decisions as we approach an extremely important summer for both franchises.

About Shlomo Sprung

Shlomo Sprung is a writer and columnist for Awful Announcing. He's also a senior contributor at Forbes and writes at FanSided, SI Knicks, YES Network and other publications.. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, Business Insider, Sporting News and Major League Baseball. You should follow him on Twitter.