Crunch time for best of the West

ORLANDO (Florida) • On the opening night of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) restart at Walt Disney World, many miles from Los Angeles, the Lakers and the Clippers put on a show.

The excitement of the Lakers' 103-101 victory on July 30 was everything fans - all those watching from home, anyway - hoped to see after the league had been on hiatus for four months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here were two championship contenders, duelling again in a potential preview of the Western Conference Finals.

Less than three weeks later, the Lakers and the Clippers still share those lofty goals as they enter the play-offs. But both teams are also works in progress, having absorbed dents in the "bubble".

The Lakers are thin along the perimeter, while the Clippers are missing bodies, including one key reserve, Montrezl Harrell, who has not played in a game since March 10.

"Things don't go as planned," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "But we've got to get going. We've got to get our rhythm during the play-offs as quickly as possible."

It would probably seem odd in any other season that the two best teams in the West are scuffling into the post-season. But this, of course, has not been any other season.

The challenges will grow only more significant for both teams moving forward, and neither of them has a particularly soft match-up in the opening round.

The top-seeded Lakers will face the Portland Trail Blazers, who are riding the molten brilliance of Damian Lillard, starting today, while the second-seeded Clippers started their wrangle with the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on their maiden trip to the post-season yesterday.

"It feels like a different season because of the circumstances," Lakers forward LeBron James said. "Everything pretty much in 2020 has felt different."

Before the season was suspended in March, the three-time NBA champion had been averaging 25.7 points, 10.6 assists and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8 per cent from the field.

In seven games in the "bubble", he has averaged 22 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists while shooting 44.9 per cent from the field.

In their eight seeding games, the Lakers were 3-5. James' modest decline in production can be explained away: He played fewer minutes than he normally does, and he was working to round into form after an extended layoff.

Still, the Lakers are not exactly soaring into the post-season. Their guard play is questionable. Rajon Rondo broke his thumb shortly after arriving in the bubble, and Avery Bradley, their top perimeter defender, opted not to participate.

His absence could loom large against Portland, especially against Lillard.

The Clippers, on the other hand, would appear to have the pieces - if only they could assemble them all on the court at the same time.

Ivica Zubac contracted the coronavirus and was a late arrival. Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams all left the bubble for stretches for personal reasons, as did Harrell, who only recently returned after the death of his grandmother and was still quarantined over the weekend.

The Clippers are also trying to incorporate three relatively new players: Joakim Noah, Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris Sr and it may be a bit of a leap of faith to suggest they can gel in time to win their first championship.

NYTIMES