Summary List Placement After watching Jimmy Butler drop a 40-point triple-double in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers changed their defensive scheme in Game 4. The Lakers had the 7-foot Anthony Davis defend Butler throughout the night. Davis’ length smothered Butler, and if Butler called for a screen to hunt a […]
The Oakland A’s have had 24 hours to digest their American League Divisional Series defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros. Difficult decisions can’t be made yet, but the Athletics’ brass left Los Angeles feeling good about the talent that flew back to Oakland. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the organization isn’t focused on what they’ve lacked…
They were rivals once, Rajon Rondo and LeBron James. Rondo was in Boston. James was in Cleveland and Miami. Their paths would cross most every year in the playoffs, an annual placing of a thorn in one another’s side. James may have had different words to describe Rondo then. These days, however, the words James […]
Whether or not the Miami Heat loses to the Los Angeles Lakers, Jimmy Butler has done the unthinkable this season. He has led a young and what many thought to be somewhat rebuilding Heat squad all the way to the NBA Finals. A place almost no one thought this team would be in the beginning. […]
Follow Southern California Newspaper Group’s Kyle Goon as he covers the Lakers during the NBA Finals inside the bubble in Orlando. Updates, highlights and and social media reaction as the Lakers try to close out the Heat in Game 5 and win their 17th NBA championship PRE-GAME One win from a title, Lakers try to…
With the Lakers on the verge of their first NBA title since 2010, fans are being asked to stay away from the team’s home arena Friday night.
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – With the Lakers on the verge of their first NBA title since 2010, fans are being asked to stay away from the team’s home arena Friday night.
With the Lakers and Miami Heat set to face off in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in what could be a championship-clinching victory for L.A., Staples Center and L.A. Live announced they “will not be airing or showing the game or potential post-game celebrations on any of the venue’s exterior digital signage.”
“Fans are encouraged to watch the game and celebrate responsibly at home,” a Staples Center statement read.
Streets immediately surrounding the area – including all sidewalks – will also be closed along the north and south sides of Chick Hearn Court as well as STAPLES Center’s Star Plaza and L.A. LIVE’s Microsoft Plaza.
Earlier this week, county health officials issued a plea for fans to stay home and celebrate any potential Lakers victory at home.
“We’re still in the middle of a pandemic,” L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said. “Very excited that the Lakers are going to be playing this next game. And we just want to remind people the safest way to celebrate all of our teams, the Lakers and the Dodgers, is to do it in the comfort of your own home.”
If the Miami Heat are to keep their season alive and force a Game 6 in the 2020 NBA Finals, they’ll have to do it without the services of Goran Dragic. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Dragic will once again be unable to play on Friday night, when the team plays the Los Angeles Lakers in a must-win Game 5.
Heat guard Goran Dragic (torn plantar fascia) is missing Game 5 of NBA Finals against the Lakers, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium.
Dragic suffered a torn plantar fasciitis during Game 1 of the series, his first career NBA Finals game. While he’s attempted to play in each of the games since then, Dragic has been unable to take the floor, and the Heat have struggled as a result. The team is currently in a 3-1 hole to the Lakers, and while they won one game in his absence, winning this series without him on the floor would be a Herculean effort.
Prior to his getting hurt, Dragic was playing some of the best basketball of his career in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, averaging 20.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 34.6 minutes per game with the Heat. In his absence, Miami has inserted rookie guard Tyler Herro into the starting lineup for the past three games, while handing over more minutes to Kendrick Nunn off the bench. And of course, Jimmy Butler has taken on a more ball-dominant role.
Before the season is over, it’s meaningful to look back at all of the major highs and lows, and take a moment to meditate on what it’s all been building toward. If the Lakers win a championship tonight, it will be a well-earned finish to an absolute marathon, the longest season in NBA history in one of the most challenging years any of us can ever remember:
At that press conference, Pelinka refers to Davis as “a pillar of this franchise for many years,” even though Davis is only technically under contract for one. It’s indicative of how the Lakers have given Davis power within the organization — he and James were among the voices considered when signing free agents and assembling the team.
The Lakers begin their season with a loss to the Clippers as Leonard plays brilliantly at Staples Center (even though the Clippers “home crowd” greets him with boos). But after, they roll off a seven-game winning streak, the first of several winning streaks that will come to define their regular season.The Getty fire threatens homes in Los Angeles, including James’ Brentwood estate. He and his family evacuate in the middle of the night and search for a hotel (Davis also evacuates, but is able to return more quickly). James later pays for a taco truck to station by the first responders’ base camp in appreciation.
On the first day of the new year, former commissioner David Stern dies, rocking the NBA. James, who battled with Stern especially in the 2011 lockout season, compares his influence to Dr. James Naismith, the creator of basketball. The solemn moment belies a Lakers season that quickly gets back on track, as the Lakers power through a number of January opponents — even winning games without James or Davis on the floor. Howard, who has been a surprise key bench player, sees his contract become guaranteed.
But the threat of COVID-19 which has been encroaching from the sidelines suddenly mounts an ambush: As the league talks about pulling fans out of games, Utah’s Rudy Gobert tests positive for coronavirus prior to a game in Oklahoma City. It drives Adam Silver to immediately suspend the season.
The union and the NBA come to an agreement to resume at Disney World, which many players have doubts about but agree to in order to save the league’s season revenue and their own paychecks. Just as the NBA announces the agreement, COVID-19 cases begin spiking in Florida, adding to the anxiety.
The death of George Floyd sets off national protests, of which NBA players become a part. Many players who might otherwise be on the court find themselves more invested than ever in off-court concerns, including racial equity and justice. Starting guard Avery Bradley is at the center of a movement of players questioning if a return to play is distracting to these interests — he later opts out, one of the most prominent players on a contending team to do so. Howard nearly follows him, but after much meditation announces he’s joining the Lakers in the bubble on CNN.
James is reportedly at the heart of the movement to get players to participate, even as he structures a voting rights initiative to address other off-court issues. On the 22 teams that attend the bubble, most players decide to participate. The Lakers add J.R. Smith, a longtime James teammate, to replace Bradley.
James said afterward that he was fueled by doubters after the Lakers missed the playoffs in his first season in L.A.: “I heard all the conversations and everything that was said about why did I decide to come to L.A — the reason I came to L.A., it was not about basketball. All those conversations, just naysayers and things of that nature. I understood that, with the season I had last year and my injury, it just gave them more sticks and more wood to throw in the fire to continue to say the things that they would say about me. But it never stopped my journey and never stopped my mindset and never stopped my goal.”
*****
Now the Lakers have the Heat on the brink and a championship almost in hand. There have been more pages to this season than any one ever before. It’s time to see how it ends.
— Kyle Goon
Editor’s note: Thanks for reading the Purple & Bold Lakers newsletter from reporter Kyle Goon, who is among the few reporters with a credential inside the NBA bubble. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.
For one year, China’s CCTV suspended showing NBA games. That suspension will be lifted tonight ahead of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, according to NBA Insider Shams Charania. This could be a reason why the NBA ratings have been so low. I have written previous articles on why the ratings have been lower than […]
The Deets is a weekday morning dose of commentary — delivered at 7 a.m. — from sports columnist Dieter Kurtenbach that wraps up everything important in the world of sports and looks forward to another crazy day ahead. I know the NFL wants to expand its footprint. Teams play games on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and…