Eight seconds had passed before three words made it clear that basketball was on its way back to being, at least sort of, normal.
“Come on, ref!” someone shouted at the sound of the first whistle.
“Normal” is a word that can’t be used without some serious qualifiers, not with the pandemic still in force, not with the precautions and rules caused by it still so prevalent. But all the seats at Staples Center weren’t empty as things took a small step in the direction of how it used to be — it was just the fans in the stands making the Lakers feel that way.