Curtains close on the Lakeshow: what happened to the 2020-21 Lakers?
LOS ANGELES — In the era of superteams in the NBA, it seemed as though the Los Angeles Lakers would be impossible to beat after the convergence of Lebron James and Anthony Davis. However, just a mere seven months after being crowned the 2020 NBA Champions, the Lakers were bounced in the first round of the playoffs, leaving many asking what went wrong for a team that looked so dominant in the prior season.
Could the Lakers’ roster changes in between seasons have had more of an impact than possibly thought? Veterans from the 2019-2020 season such as Rajon Rondo and Danny Green were exchanged for seemingly better options in Dennis Schroder and Wesley Matthews. Javale McGee and Dwight Howard departed for other teams, but their shoes were filled by seasoned veteran Marc Gasol and young standouts Montrezl Harrell and Andre Drummond.
Comparing last year’s roster for the Lakeshow with this year’s had most fans and critics believing that the roster moves would lead to an even better and overwhelming Lakers team. Though it was an intimidating collection of talent on paper, the Lakers finished the season with a record of 42-30, leaving them to fight to even get into the playoffs with the newly introduced play-in games. The play-in game pitted the Lakers against the rival Golden State Warriors team for a spot in the playoffs, with the Lakers prevailing. Now that both teams are out of the tournament, it marks the first time in the last decade that the NBA Finals will not feature James or Steph Curry competing.
Maybe other teams around the NBA and in the Western Conference improved and caught up with the Lakers? The superteam formation with Davis and James spawned many other superstar players to team up in big markets. The Brooklyn Nets saw the likes of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving teaming up to create one of the most efficient offenses in NBA history. Other teams such as the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns kept their main cores from last year while bringing in a couple of new additions to stabilize their teams. All three teams are exceeding expectations in the playoffs, with the No. 2 seed Phoenix Suns even knocking off the Lakers in the first round, even though the Lakers were initially favored as the No. 7 seed.
The Lakers season long struggles could be summed up by one of the oldest adages in sports: the best ability is availability. The two-headed Lakers monster of Davis and James are undoubtedly important to the success of the team. During the 2019-2020 season, the duo played in 59 games together on their way to an NBA Championship. This season, they both found themselves on the injured list often. Davis and James missed a total of 63 games combined, leaving them to only play a total of 27 games together. After suffering a groin injury halfway in the season, James made it known that he may never be 100% again, and Davis missed crucial games in the playoff series with the Phoenix Suns. Staying healthy was the issue all throughout the regular season and that Achilles heel continued to rear its ugly head in the postseason.
The results of the 2020-2021 season have led many sports analysts and TV personalities to proclaim that the “Bubble Playoffs,” which took place in Orlando, Fla. last fall, was a fluke. Teams shot higher percentages, underdog teams overperformed and possibly the biggest difference maker: no home court advantage and no fans in attendance. With the world returning to a sense of normalcy and sports following suit, the results of this season are now presented without any excuses or asterisks.
The playing field is leveled and back to how the NBA season and playoffs progressed before the bubble, with fans in attendance and traveling back in the mix. With the 2019-2020 season ending in October and the 2020-2021 season starting up in December, the shortened (and relatively non-existent) offseason could be the smoking gun answering the question as to why the Lakers struggled to compete and stay healthy throughout the season.
In unison with the Lakers, two of the three other teams that made up the Western and Eastern Conference Finals during last season, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, were also bounced in the first round of this season’s playoffs. Placing the blame on the short turnaround with teams that went the farthest in the playoffs last year seems to hold water, with only the Nuggets advancing past the first round of this year’s playoffs after making it to the Western Conference Finals last year.
So which aspect is the most likely suspect for the Lakeshow’s title defense ending early? There are a plethora of reasons as to why the Lakers season ended prematurely, and all of them most likely played a part in sending the defending champions home in the first round. Davis is signed to wear purple and gold through the 2024-25 season, and with James turning 37 next season, the title window for the Lakers appears to be on borrowed time. However, the duo is one for two on NBA championships together, and though they are no longer competing for this year’s title, some extended offseason time may be just what the Lakers need to make the most out of their fleeting championship window.
