Even as the rest of the league prepared to head into the playoffs, it certainly felt like the bottom of the play-in field got more attention than teams atop the standings. The Lakers and Nets were both failures in their own rights, with the kinds of explosive atmospheres Michael Bay dreams of.
The Nets and Lakers have things in common beyond the eventually disappointing outcomes of their seasons, too. LeBron James and Kevin Durant both held unprecedented power over the way their teams were run this year as the next step of the superstar empowerment era.