The 2020 Lakers | 4 Years Later
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2024
- It has been almost four years since the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship in the bubble and things have kind of gone downhill for the Lakers ever since. Due to bad injury luck and poor front office decisions what was a contending team has becoming a play in team and it doesn't look like that is changing anytime soon. Since some time has passed we wanted to look back on the 2020 Lakers with the benefit of hindsight to see if they truly were a great team or just massively benefited for the NBA bubble in Disney World.
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Funny how people always say that shutdown ONLY benefitted Lebron and the Lakers even though Lebron and AD were healthy for most of the year, only missing 13 games combined. Then you have people ignoring the load managing Clippers and Giannis literally got injured a week before the shutdown.
I was part of the whole “They shut down the league for 2 or so months for the lakers to start it back up in Orlando” looking back at it, it wasn’t just for the lakers to “Recharge” I can see that Alllll of the teams needed a reset before the Bubble championship, now I ain’t no laker fan, but if it was any other team that won it, we would probably say the same thing.
The play on tournament emergence has helped Lebron more than anything 😂💀
I understand both sides honestly but a lot can change in 2 months of basketball.
Rankings can change, teams can change players/sets/rotations, teams can learn and adapt to beating opponents/matchups as they face them more throughout the season… Not to mention some players thought the season was over so they were severely out of practice for 2 months
In my opinion I believe the outcomes of the bubble season would’ve definitely changed AT LEAST somewhat if the season was continuous
don't remind me about giannis. but we won a ring the next year so suck on that.
@@cwavygaming6615to be fair the lakers have never been saved by the play in
If it was so easy, why didn't anyone else win
Keep in mind the lakers didn’t wanna play in the bubble
Give it a rest
Because not everyone else bought a bunch of veterans like lebron AD rondo mcgee or danny
As much as I dislike Lebron, the bubble championship was a legitimate championship. The hoops happened and that all that matters.
It was a unique set of circumstances different to the rest of the championships won throughout history. The lack of travel and lack of playing home/away does impact the players, aswell as the long break beforehand.
It benefited the lakers cause Lebron and AD were well rested and since they are older and more injury prone they were able to benefit from the rest.
Kind of like how the 23/24 lakers won the in season tournament. It happened early in the year before the grind of the 82 game season could wear the team down
@@vulcanraven9701there was no crowd why the hell does that matter 😂
My biggest problem with this take is that “they” had a 4 month break. Literally EVERY team had a 4 month break. Every team in the playoffs played with that advantage. I swear the bubble ring is only looked down upon because LeBron won it.
Context is everything. When you're 35 and coming off a major injury and your running mate is made of glass, yeah, a 4 month break is more important to you than anyone else. Just look at the following 3 seasons... those guys couldn't stay healthy together.
@@THE_BEAR_JEWexactly , we say it benefited them because every szn after that and the szn before that’s lebron and AD miss games and get Burnt out by the end of the szn. With a full 82 game schedule and travel in between games the lakers would not have won that championship. They went to 6 games with the heat without Bam and with a completely exhausted Jimmy. When u add context it makes perfect sense but people always have to act like lebron is a victim or like he’s had the hardest career of all time.
@@THE_BEAR_JEWSo if LeBron and AD get hurt early in a series and lose, did their opponents get a "fake" win? Injuries are part of the game. So are lack of injuries. Acting like the break only helped the Lakers is dishonest. If the Blazers/Nuggets/Heat can only beat a Lakers team riddled with injuries they don't deserve to win
@@travisfinke6291 Great point that they wont answer. Theirs a quiet part they're not saying out loud about their dislike of the bubble. Lebron winning.
@@travisfinke6291 I said a 4 month break helped the Lakers a lot more than other teams because of their circumstances. That take is proven correct by the subsequent 3 seasons.
You're talking about guys being injured during a series, which is a fine conversation to have, but irrelevant to the first convo. To answer your question, yeah, it would feel like a fake win if the Lakers didn't have LeBron and AD.
It’s crazy how people flat out refuse to admit the Lakers were the best team that year. Best team in the west by a wide margin, had a very impressive record and never lost a game when they had a lead going into the fourth. Mfs lost their minds when Phoenix did that the next year and act like the Lakers did lot do the same thing. And I’m not trying to hear about them getting 4 months off cus EVERY SINGLE TEAM in the bubble had 4 months off. And idc about them being older cus they just showed the top oldest teams in the league and I don’t remember anybody saying those teams benefitted from the bubble, just the team that won it. Crazy how that works? Hell Giannis was injured before the season shut down and got 4 months to heal up for the bubble.
It’s kuz Lebron was apart of it simple as dat. Anything to diminish his accomplishments
This teams chemistry was on another level it’s a shame Rob Pelinka broke it up
Nah it was LeBron because he had to have Westbrook.
Yal haven’t learned now that Lebron makes personnel choices? 💀
@@cwavygaming6615if that was the case he would have had Ty Lue as a coach and not Vogel.
@@brycedeloch2242lebron never wanted westbrook, he wanted demar
@@ngfenvy5180 This is simply not true. lol Maybe Demar was his first choice, but he was def one of the ones pushing for Westbrook.
I hate the whole argument of the 2020 NBA Championship "wasn't legit" because of the circumstances behind it and who won it. If that's the case, then make that same argument for the MLB, NHL, and NFL.
Correct and we do make the same argument 😂. In all seriousness this is like .5 a ring for the Lakers. It's not all fake it's just somewhat fake
@@tysonkrehnke2835How is it "fake"?
@@hhtptaibecause of the circumstances and no repeat or even a 2nd title in a near time span I promise u if lakers went back to back nobody would’ve been able to say shit but not even making back to the finals and being a play in team for the last 4 years is just a bad look
@tysonkrehnke2835 not true nobody talks about the dodgers 2020 championship having a Asterix they only played 50 regular season games
@carlkash3587 they literally made it to the conference finals 2 years ago with lebron and AD so it's not like they haven't gotten past the 1st round since then
Man I picked the perfect day to wear my 2020 Lakers championship shirt lol
I cared more about the Clippers losing than the Lakers winning. It’s very rare you get to see a relatively media favorite lose. The Clippers, Nets, and the Bills (NFL wise) have lead to some amazing arguments. What I didn’t like was people like Skip, and others, saying the championship didn’t count despite them saying it was Kawhi’s time DURING the bubble. I’m not even a huge sports fan (unless you include Motorsports), and that seriously irked me. It makes no sense, especially since we’ve seen the same set of teams make deep playoff runs seasons after.
Despite all the bubble talk and all that, that Lakers team was actually good because of their defense especially that supporting cast of KCP/Danny Green/Rondo/Dwight/Caruso all veterans who knew their roles and excelled at it complementing the stars in Bron and AD.
If it was anyone other than LeBron or the Lakers, most fans would accept this title and there isn’t anything anyone can say to convince me otherwise.
Exactly its ridiculous
Exactly, if anyone would've won it, the narrative would've surely been different.
If Butler won people would say "Heat definitely deserved this, Butler carried and was insane!"
Untrue
If you're wondering how Anthony Davis made that shot at the end of game 2 of the WCF, he said that he yelled "Kobe!" right before he shot it.
so has he stopped yellign kobe after shooting 3's these days? cuz his shooting fell off the earth since this fluke bubble run
As a Lakers fan, the 2020 season had me experiencing a cacophony of emotions from start to finish. I remember going into the season and just having a feeling that this was our year to win. By the time the Lakers got the first seed, Kyle Kuzma tweeted that the first seed was for Laker fans that remembered losing seasons. Going into the playoffs was so special to me because I wanted to see the Clippers lose as much as I wanted to see the Lakers win. By the time the WCF happened, I just knew the Lakers were going to win the championship.
Lakers fans barely have losing seasons, they can just sign superstars elsewhere
10 seconds in and there’s a guy with a Boston Red Sox hat and a Lakers Jersey… I’m already upset
I was convinced I imagined that lol
It helped A LOT of people. Say what you want, this team would’ve beat any team in the league that year. And beat they did, every team in front of them. If it helped them, it helped everyone.
God, I miss this team so much! The chemistry and vibes this team had was on another level! Thank you so much for making this video! I reminisce on their highlights whenever the season is lost after this.
A real showtime lakers team
i remember their first video being about the bubble. what a journey this channel has been through good work guys
I’m glad people are addressing it in this comment section. The Lakers didn’t get a 4 month break. EVERY TEAM got a 4 month break. Pandemic P was literally on his podcast talking about how great he feels going into the bubble and how scary the clippers were because of the restart. Yet they folded. Giannis benefited from the break and lost in 5 in the second round. Maybe, just maybe, the best team actually won the championship.
As a latecomer to the NBA, the bubble was where I fell in love with basketball and ultimately the Lakers. It was what helped me stay connected to my dad and friends when we were all isolated in different parts of the country. I remember rooting my heart out for lakers after the rockets were eliminated, and getting to actually watch the finals with my dad in person after careful covid planning.
It may not have been an all time team, but the 2020 lakers helped me keep my sanity when the isolation from friends and family was getting to me. While I’m not happy with where they went from this point, they turned me into a diehard basketball fan. And I’ll always be grateful for those things.
That’s awesome bro
As a laker fan who has witnessed the decline after tasting championship joy once more in 2020, thank you guys. It's nice to revisit the time when we instilled fear in opponents and had an identity on defense with javale and howard. It sucks we get that asterisk but damn, what a ride
The last dance was airing at the time as well. Good times for such conditions
As a Lakers fan it was definitely a crazy and weird time for LakersNation and as an organization because this is the same year Kobe and Gigi die in that helicopter crash with the other victims. The season was dedicated to them throughout the rest of that season.
And the Lakers wore those Black Mamba's Jersey created by Kobe. And when they wore those uniforms they seem unstoppable and dominant as hell only losing one game to the Heat in Game 5.
Plus how everybody was on the Clippers jock during this season and the Clippers collapse before making it to the WCF was crazy as well 😂😂😂😂.
But yeah it was a weird time for the Lakers, I mean hell for everyone during that time.
i remember this team was impossible to beat in 2k
Losing Caruso, KCP, Bradley, Howard, Green, Rondo, and Mcgee was a killer to our defense. Hasn't been the same since.
This title was for Kobe and that's the reason I love it, AD won us this ring, him and Dwight were stopping jokic that year
Kobe wouldn’t want that ish. He’d want a real title.
@@adamfeliciano6321 bro that is a real title. No teams had a advantage over the other, the Lakers were the best team in 2020
@@adamfeliciano6321what you're talking about is the in season tournament banner being hung up
Jokic wasn’t Jokic then.
@@adamfeliciano6321you expect me to believe the Mamba wouldn’t want that ring? Kobe? Mamba mentality wouldn’t want a ring? My guy do you actually know who Kobe is or you’re just talking?😂…the Kobe I KNEW would take every Goddamm ring available on any planet. I don’t know what Kobe you’re talking about😂
By some distance the strongest champions post-Warriors/Cavs, no idea why Rob Pelinka blew it up
You're crazy
Lol no.
Hell no… that lakers team got pushed to 6 vs a injured heat team how on earth you think that team title is strong
I think this current Celtics team is better but otherwise I agree
2024 Celtics > 2023 Nuggets > 2020 Lakers
I’m not even a Lakers fan, but people wanting to give them an * for this title is crazy.
Any advantages the bubble and break gave them were given to everyone else 😂 it’s not like only they got rest and didn’t have to travel
Nobody else even wanted to be there, lebron took it so seriously because he saw it as an easy opportunity to stat pad his legacy
@@TheBBCSlurpeestop talking basketball weirdo 😂
It's funny how people talk about the bubble championship not counting but NEVER bring up the 1998-1999 50 game season lock out championship. Plus that was when the first round was still best of 3.
I just remeber kuz saying that hes kawhi😂😂
Kawhi now or before his dollar tree knees
@@ceufrscio707 before
Before cus this is 19-20 when kawhi was 28-29
they needa add this team and the 2022 warriors to 2K
It's surprising they haven't the most recent team is the 2019 raptors
Why are you still playing trash ass 2k is the real question
This team has so much versatility. Can play big with AD and Dwight/Javale they also put Bron at point this season with KCP/Green/Bradley at the wings. They can also play small but not really small playing Markieff next to AD which gives them spacing. I also think that Kieff was underappreciated, he gives us shooting and can also post up smaller defenders.
The idea that somehow, someway, the LAKERS were the ones to benefit from the Shutdown while all their opponents had it bad is asinine and the arguments for it are laughable. "Oh but Lebron was old and had time to avoid injury" yeah, because we see Kawhi and PG were the healthy ones huh?
"Oh but the bubble didnt have homecourt" yes, and the Lakers were the number 1 OVERALL seed. They were the ones who would most benefit from a home crowd. Really dont know what goes on people's heads, just say that you dont like Lebron, there's no need to play pretend.
I'll never understand why people think the bubble benefited the lakers. The extra rest time, and no crowds, every team got that so its even for everyone. If anything it was a harder path, because the lakers didn't get home court and they had to focus on winning a championship away from their friends and family in a confined space. The only reason people say its a bubble ring is because its LeBron, and the internet tells them to
Hate 😂 just because Lebron won it
Its more that much of the league was injuries D Steph Kyrie giannis, several Heat starters etc. so it wasnt a difficult road
@@vulcanraven9701 warriors 2022 was hard neither were the bucks road hard lol
@@Big_talks. which is why those titles hardly matter
@@vulcanraven9701 people speak about them heavily though warriors won again without KD
What’s crazy is one of the picks was Jaxson Hayes and he went to LA anyway
"Champs to Chumps" next time they come to portland we need to wear these shirts for the lakers😅
Not a basketball fan at all, but this ring will mean a lot since my dad was a Laker fan who was diagnosed with cancer and he was anle to see them get the ring before passing...
Idk why people acting like the lakers wasn’t the top seed before the shutdown happened
Great video.
If any other team but the Lakers had won, there would be next to no takes about "Mickey Mouse Ring" this or "They got to have a huge break to get healthy" that.
I think this ring was more difficult than most to get
Ah it's debateable
All I can think of is the Horny urges all these players went through while at the bubble and whatever they indulge on their off time, they couldn’t get things they had to sneak everything in. Yeah for them it was the Hardest chip 😂
@@jiovanysoltero923🤨
Hey Synthetic Sports love your content 💯💪🏽, the next time you guys do a video for a forgotten NBA team can you do the 2006-2007 Utah Jazz with Deron Williams Carlos Boozer and imo the most underrated defender ever AK47 and can’t forget Mehmet Okur who was really before his time
Their is absolutely no way that lebron was gonna win MVP, the bucks were on a 70 win pace
never been this early
Most underrated team of the modern era
When Lionel Messi won the Copa America in 2021, The Media didn't say Bubble Cup. When the Tampa Bay Lighting won the 2020 Stanley Cup in a neutral Site Bubble at Edmonton Rogers Place, I didn't hear Bubble cup! The UFC fighters and Boxers that won their championships in the year 2020 weren't called Bubble Champs. The 2021 Team USA basketball team that won gold without a crowd wasn't called "fake" Medals. But when the NBA and the Lakers won it all, all of a sudden its a problem?!?! Shout Out to the 2020 NBA Champion Lakers Team! One of the most dominating teams of all time!
Great video
I was going through a break up during this, covid and in my final year of university, so this championship was really the one positive thing. I remember being so hyped for next season. Lebron was clearly at that point top 3, AD was 27? Prime of his life looking to become an MVP candidate. The team was also great. KCP, Kuzma, Dennis, Rondo, D Howard, danny green and the bald goat. Cant understand why they broke this team up. Made no sense at all. LeGM fucked it all up.
brother it was NOT Lebron let me tell you that. They would've won in 2020 if AD didn't got injured. So they wanted another "star" if AD or Bron got injured. They wanted Demar DeRozan, and everything was planned out, the 3 of them had dinners in their homes together in stuff. But then ROB PELINKA believed Russell Westbrook was better than Demar. So the trade was never finalized, and instead traded for Russ. Brother, LeGM has never had any power in the Lakers Org because they didn't get Demar, or Ty Lue, or Kyrie, or any player this offseason Lebron was willing to take a paycut for... So yeah basically it's that the Lakers have a horrible Front Office, it started since 2014-ish way before Lebron got in LA
I think they could have been a high level contender, maybe not and all time great, but they traded away their depth for Russ.that ruined them. And honestly, the 2023 run was a fluke. The west was really weak in 2022-23. They are basically the same team, and I don’t think they would’ve beat Minnesota OKC or Dallas.
2020 was also a fluke
I think they might've had a shot against an unhealthy Dallas, but yeah 2023 was a mediocre team clawing through a noticeably weaker west
After Gobert adjusted to the Wolves and Ant took the leap, OKC's players all growing up + Chet coming in and Kyrie adjusting to Dallas + all their trades? Not to mention the Clippers were somewhat decent until Kawhi's body gave out at the seasons end.
@@ChiefBlue4298 they were the first seed, tf u mean fluke
@@fatman3177 a 1st seed that got taken to 6 games by an injured 44 win team
@@vulcanraven9701 you talking about the team that nearly swept the 1 seeded bucks, swept the 4th seeded pacers and beat the 3rd seeded celtics in 6 games???. they in the finals for a reason man, cuz they were good.
Lebron is such a menace in elimination games. Dude had 36-16-10 as one of the oldest players in the league at this time and you just kind of shrug and expect it.
Trading or losing for Westbrook: KCP, Kuzma, and Caruso. Ouch.
LeBron pushing for that Westbrook trade emptied our bench and key role players. The Front office ain’t free either. Shoulda kept KCP, resigned Caru-show (the Heart & Soul of the team just my opinion) to a longer deal, Playoff Rondo, etc.
Honestly most criticisms of LeBron are usually just haters but the LeGM criticism is valid. The Westbrook trade made no sense whatsoever.
You know what people watch again? Blazers highlights
The bubble tourney was just as legitimate and valid the in season tournament. If you win it, it proves youre the best in the league. Everyone competed in the in season tournament. Lakers were the best team this season. Bro I cant anymore. LEBUM SUCKS
weirdo😂
Hate is crazy😭
that 2019 core coulda been special
Most likely Bron’s last ring. They had a winning formula and blew it all up for nothing. That Russ trade will forever cos them. I wish they signed Melo this yr. Would’ve been a swan song to all the 2010s greats. Perfect way out.
The 2020 ring was probably the only thing that saved the LeBron era in LA from becoming a total failure. Too bad casuals don’t count that ring.
I ultimately blamed the FO for most of the team’s failures, cuz injuries aside, had we kept our core pieces, we’d probably make a few other finals appearances. Instead, they did dumb things like letting Dwight, Rondo and later Caruso walk for nothing, gutting draft picks, trading for Westbrook, hire and fire multiple coaches and letting LeBron play GM for the team. The Lakers have been incompetent since the death of Jerry Buss in 2013. That’s all i can say rn as a Lakers fan.
Not a Laker fan, but! Kobe would have never had this mismanagement of management’s with the staff. He would have put a Leash on Rob Pelinka and everyone else at that office.
@@jiovanysoltero923 unfortunately for Kobe, he had to witness that during his final seasons when Jim Buss and Mitch Kupcak were there. It lead to the darkest years in Laker history
We shouldn’t have made those panic moves after losing in the first round to the Suns in ‘21. That’s what destroyed the team. Somehow Pelinka salvaged a little bit by trading Westbrook a couple years later but it was never the same after that Suns series.
@@jasonfire3434 I remember before the Suns series, they signed Andre Drummond as a panic move cuz they thought they were missing the playoffs. They lost their confidence the moment LeBron and AD went down with injuries back in 21.
These guys would have had a different reaction to the 2020 bubble had the Trail Blazers won.
EVERY TEAM HAD A BREAK. THERE IS NO WAY TO PROVE THAT THE LAKERS BENEFITTED THE MOST OUT OF IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE TEAM WAS HEALTHY FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON.
Having Javale, Dwight and AD was the key to thier chip. It was a matchup nightmare when paired up with Lebron.
Babe wake up, new Synthetic Sports dropped!
I remember getting locked out of my car after the lakers won game 4 in the finals 😂that night was so bad
Battle of LA going to be a play in tournament.
Since the Olympics are coming up could yall do a video covering all the recent Olympic teams and debate on who’s the best or just talk about them?
What on earth! Feels like a year ago.
Clippers couldn't make it to the WCF bc Doc Rivers doesn't know how to coach a team to win 4-1
people don’t forget that the lakers and heat had the shortest turn around from post season to the next season and they STILL were the best team in the nba until bron and AD went down
The best playoff series during the bubble was my defending champs Toronto raptors vs Boston Celtics
This team was absolutely pristine they had the best complementary players next to Bron and AD, so well rounded. I’ll never forget the day Pelinka ruined this team by trading for Russ and letting Caruso walk for nothing. Never been more pissed at this organization like that ever
I don't know why people continue to disregard the bubble postseason when the real fraudulent postseason was 2021. At worst, the final four teams from the bubble have made it back to a conference championship whereas the final four teams from the 2021 postseason have never gotten past the second round since that postseason.
Lets not forget this was a few months after kobi had died if anything this was the hardest championship ever won to lose one of ur brothers and idol
I'm a Laker fan. They were more than bubble merchants but I don't think they're an all time team. All I can say is if teams complain about it, then more teams should've voted against the bubble.
My question for detractors of the Bubble is what would they have done instead without hindsight? Cancel the season can mark 2020 as the first time the NBA didn’t crown a champion? Lose all that remaining revenue they could’ve salvaged? What would’ve been a better option so the season wouldn’t have been as mocked as it is?
I bet if the clippers one people would say it was legit lmao
You guys don't watch bubble highlights or anything from 2020 really. Simply because it was a terrible year for the whole planet, not just for basketball. All of us rightfully are trying to put that year behind us because of the shared trauma we all endured. I hate how hoops "fans" disrespect this Lakers team.
What were you doing while the Bubble Playoffs were playing out? I was stuck doing endless amounts of homework.
Players always shoot better in practice when there's no crowd, AD is a good shooter but can't hit 3's under pressure
He doesn't take threes under pressure often. That's not his game.
@@urbaindelva7869 well, he did the one time he won a ring
I honestly thought not having fans made the game immensely more entertaining. It felt more raw and authentic. I would love if they tested out a no fan playoff. Ik they never will bc it’s not a good business move but I love the bubble for that reason
The only reason a lot of don’t count it is for the fact that lakers haven’t made it back to the finals while Miami has as a 8th seed and on top of that they rested 4 months considering ad ain’t ever healthy that helped him out alot
A lot of coaches turned down the role bc Lakers wanted to pick assistant coaches. JKidd was suppose to become coach after his situation died down. But Vogel won the chips and that shouldn’t have been an extension.
People talking like only the Lakers had the 4 month break lol. They were the number one seed in the west and held the best record before the lockdown
Super early gang
LeBron and AD - still going
KCP - two - time champ
Caruso - one of the best defensive guards
Markieff - rotting in Mavs bench
McGee and Howard - not in the NBA anymore
Dudley - Mavs assistant coach
Rondo - retired
THT - Utah Jazz
JR Smith - Retired
Danny Green - Free Agent
Kuzma - Wizards
Pope & Caruso are complete trash.
We're still suffering draft rise from the ad trade
To be fair, when’s the last time the Lakers have drafted, developed, and kept a star player and won with him? Honestly not since Kobe (technically draft day trade but still). I guess Bynum too, he was a beast for a little bit but not long enough.
@@jasonfire3434 well we could of with dlo, Lonzo, Ingram or Randale but they're not super stars just all stars same with Kuzma
The 4D chess and hoop jumping people go through to cope themselves into believing this ring shouldn’t count is crazy. With the logic these people use, you can pretty much make every championship not count as well.
The problem for me with saying the shutdown and the bubble helped the Lakers is that every other team went through the shutdown and the bubble, too. So if it helped the Lakers, fine, but it would've also helped every other team.
The 2021 Lakers roster was better than their championship roster, it's just that they were plagued with injuries.
I'm a Lakers fan I love this team
Yeah the shutdown helped the Lakers. No harm in saying that. It shouldnt be used against them tho. They played in the same circumstances every other team did that was in the bubble. Now I won't go as far as to say this was the hardest championship but it was earned fairly. Give em credit
Two things:
You say there was nothing historic about them yet they were the first team in NBA history to go undefeated while leading into the 4th quarter.
You say this was their strongest roster ever, the 2021 team was the best roster assembled during the LeBron-AD era. Injuries just killed that team that Frank Vogel manged to make the #1 defense in the league while LeBron-AD were out
I think it's understated that this team is the template for how to beat Nikola Jokic.
Kuzma being a Mario galaxy black hole was so funny
Vando was a good pickup too ppl forgrt he put Steph Curry in the penitentiary 2 seasons ago
The bubble only gets crap due to the fact that Lebron won
It really doesn't sit right with me that people always try to discredit the Lakers 2020 championship. If the Clippers or Heat won, everyone would say it was legitimate. You can't really use the bubble as an excuse because the Lakers basically had the first seed before the 4-month break, and everyone was under the same circumstances because the NBA chose to finish the regular season. People can't say that the 2020 championship should have an asterisk just because it wasn't won in a traditional setting, when we were all just excited that the season didn't get cancelled.
Let’s all be honest if the Lakers had gotten killed by the clippers in the western conference finals like how everyone was predicting no one would of said oh it was the bubble doesn’t count
It's fortunate the Lakers won it that year considering the injuries to AD and/or LeBron in the subsequent 3 seasons. Who knows if they would've gotten injured had COVID not happened.
While I don’t trash this chip as much as everybody else we do have to acknowledge out of all the teams the bubble affected the Lakers were definitely the team that had the most to gain from it, a super old injury prone roster essentially got half an offseason to rest and prep for the playoffs while the younger teams had their grooves shaken immensely. because in hindsight this really was a gap year in the West, Warriors were non existent, Jazz were too young, Nuggets were too young, Grizzlies were too young, so it was really just the clippers and lakers.
I guess we forgot how Kawhi and PG out of all people didn’t benefit from that huge rest huh? But yup only the lakers😂
if kd was healthy in 2020 he wouldve owned the bubble
They had the ideal formula to win with a twin tower lineup with AD at the 4 surrounded by 3&D guys with Lebron running the show and a vet PG off the bench when needed. I have no idea why they would just completely change the team after this kinda lineup proved it was a championship caliber lineup. AD is not a 5 especially when they have never gotten a solid 4 to pair with AD
I don’t really view them all that differently from the ‘99 Spurs, or other teams that faced a lockout that shortened the season. Sure they had 4 months off, but they had to stay in game shape that whole time. It’s not like they could go anywhere, either, the pandemic had the whole world shut down. How easy would it have been to just give up and show back up out of shape? Furthermore, every team that still played did so under the same rules. It’s not like LAL got to take a vacation while everyone else played for four months.
Heat needed Goran and Bam for the whole series, jimmy couldn’t carry alone
As a Lakers fan, I think we should've kept Caruso, maybe get rid of Kuzma which we did, keep KCP and keep Dwight Howard. This is an example of a bad front office and I think we need to get rid of Rob Pelinka. In one year, we were the 1st seed who won the finals, the next season we were the 7th seed who lost in the first round.
The only way That title would be fully embraced was if they went back to back When Miami won that 2012 lockout shortened season ring there was hella noise until they repeated and it’s not never a topic When Spurs dynasty is brought up the 2000s is glorified and that 99 lockout title is almost never mentioned