The burden of winning a championship was replaced by the cost of it for the Los Angeles Lakers, whose bid for a repeat was doomed the moment the NBA decided to start this season in December instead of January.
The 71-day “break” after the Orlando bubble begat the injuries, which begat the buzzsaw wearing purple and orange jerseys instead of purple and gold. In today’s era, it would almost seem to take a disaster for a defending champion that looks like itself on the outside to find itself on the outside of the playoffs after the first series of eliminations.