Here we go again. Finally.
The Lakers restart their season Thursday against the Clippers, snapping back to reality after a twisted turn, unlike anything in NBA history.
If it’s weird to witness basketball in July, wait until playoffs start in mid-August and the NBA Finals reach their peak in October.
Yes, October.
Will the Lakers be there? They were on a serious roll when we last saw them in March, flicking away the league’s other top teams with a nine-point win over the Clippers and a 10-point victory over Milwaukee. Then the league suspended play a few days later because of the novel coronavirus.
But 22 teams and almost 350 NBA players have converged in Orlando at what’s now commonly called “The Bubble,” part of a Disney World property that has temporarily become a closed campus with several hotels, three basketball courts, and a lot of pro athletes trying to avoid utter boredom between games.
Much is at stake for the Lakers the next few months. It’s hard to pinpoint where to begin.
LeBron James is trying to win a fourth championship after suffering the indignity of failing to make playoffs last season, his first with the Lakers. He’s having an MVP-caliber run at age 35 and has pushed back demonstratively against the “washed-up” whispers that tentatively circled him during his injury struggles a year ago.
He likes what he sees as the Lakers get ready for eight regular-season games before playoffs.
“We’ve got a close-knit group,” he said. “We have a lot of togetherness, a lot of brotherhood with this franchise, and we care for one another. Not only on the floor but off the floor as well.”
That togetherness will be tested amid the bizarre reality of games without fans. If the Lakers win their 17th championship, it won’t be at Staples Center. It will be 2,500 miles away in front of a few hundred people – mainly players, coaches, support staff, and media members.
“You gotta create your own energy here. We understand that,” James said. “Our wonderful fans are watching this game on the TVs, on the laptops, phones, iPads…whatever the case may be. So it’s about us creating our own energy.”
James found new life in his game this season partly because of Anthony Davis, who cost the Lakers three players and three draft picks in a trade last summer. It’s a bargain at this point.
Davis, 27, has injected the Lakers with an incredible defensive presence and equally strong aura on offense. He never made it past the second round of the playoffs in seven years with New Orleans. It would be a disappointment if it didn’t happen this year.
“Whoever wins is going to be the team that’s mentally tough,” Davis said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with physical attributes. It’s more who’s mentally tough to get through just being here, not seeing your family, and getting back to work. I think we have an advantage in that category.”
The Lakers haven’t been so tough in recent years.
They hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2013, the longest drought in the franchise’s 72-year history. They’ve hired four different coaches since then and experienced a dramatic front-office turnover in 2017 that epitomized remarkably turbulent times for one of the NBA’s most stable franchises.
This season looked strong for the Lakers, who sat atop the West with a 49-14 record until the March shutdown. Thanks to a strong run-up to that point, they’re virtually guaranteed the top seeding in the Western Conference playoffs.
But they’ll be without two important players.
Starting guard Avery Bradley decided not to join the team in Orlando, where every game will be played from now through the Finals. He will instead remain with his family, citing the need to be with a young son with a history of respiratory illnesses.
After the team assembled in Orlando three weeks ago, backup guard Rajon Rondo broke his right thumb during practice and will be sidelined six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery.
At the guard position, the Lakers now have to rely on an erratic veteran (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), two young players (Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook), and two older ones who haven’t made an impact in a couple of years (Dion Waiters and JR Smith).
Despite it all, most oddsmakers pick the Lakers as champions thanks to the James-Davis combination. They’re projected to face the Clippers in the West finals before playing the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals if the experts know what they’re talking about.
James isn’t taking anything for granted. Winning a championship is never easy. It’s probably never been more difficult than now.
“Everyone keeps asking me, ‘How’s The Bubble?’ Or ‘How’s it going?’ and I just say, ‘It’s 2020. Nothing is normal in 2020,’” James said. “Nothing seems as is. Who knows if it will ever go back? You make the adjustments, figure it out along the way. That’s what life is all about.”
Mike Bresnahan is the Lakers analyst for Spectrum SportsNet.