The NBA came back in a flash. On Wednesday, just a couple of months after championship confetti fell upon the LeBron-led Lakers in the Florida bubble, the Raptors will tip off against the New Orleans Pelicans to begin the 2020-21 season. It was the shortest off-season in league history, and yet it seems like the NBA restart can’t happen soon enough. In many ways, basketball’s televised revival feels like an essential service for the housebound.
It could be that Raptors fans, like myself, despondent after watching their team get booted from the bubble by the Boston Celtics, are ready to rinse their mouths of the lingering taste of defeat, which was particularly foul after enjoying the sweet champagne of a 2019 championship victory.