The 2021–22 NBA season tips off on Oct. 19, and between now and then the Crossover staff will be analyzing all of the biggest story lines ahead of what promises to be an unforgettable campaign. You can find our NBA preview stories here.
It’s the biggest question. It’s perhaps the only question: Why? It was just last October when the Lakers were celebrating their 17th NBA championship. If Anthony Davis hadn’t tweaked his groin in Game 4 of Los Angeles’s first-round series against the Suns this spring, maybe the Lakers would’ve dispatched the battered Nuggets and Clippers en route to the Finals.