Toughest battle ever for NBA title
Despite patchy form since restart, Bucks and Lakers are favourites among wide-open field
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Portland guard C.J. McCollum (left) and forward Carmelo Anthony side-bump after the latter's three-pointer against Memphis in the Western Conference play-in game. The Blazers won 126-122 to clinch the final spot in the play-offs, in which teams do without home-court advantage and players are away from home longer the further their teams progress.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
ORLANDO (Florida) • A National Basketball Association (NBA) season unlike any other moves into high gear today with the start of the play-offs in the league's quarantine "bubble" at Disney World.
In a season reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic, home-court advantage is just a memory.
Fans are banned from the campus where the league has so far successfully operated without a positive Covid-19 test since its restart last month.
But the price is that players know that the deeper their teams' post-season run, the longer they remain isolated from their families and friends.
"This is going to be the toughest championship you could ever win," Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning Most Valuable Player, said ahead of his top-seeded team's first-round meeting with the Orlando Magic.
Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers agrees with that assessment.
"Whoever wins this year really had to go get it and earn it, and had guys who took time off seriously and still stayed in shape, and was able to get back the chemistry, true chemistry," he said.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey added: "We have a historic situation we're all facing. I count eight teams that can win it. When does that ever happen?"
At 56-17, the Bucks own the best record in the league, as they have for two years in a row, and will be the favourites against the Magic (33-40), who they swept in the regular season.
While their form since entering the "bubble" has been lacklustre, going 3-5 record since the restart, Antetokounmpo feels Milwaukee can return to their pre-shutdown form.
"Now it's play-off time," he said. "I definitely don't believe in the turn-on switch that everybody talks about, like we can turn on the switch and be great, but I do believe that if everybody is on the same page and if everyone is focused and get together... I believe we can play way, way better."
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1ST-ROUND PLAY-OFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Milwaukee Bucks (1) v Orlando Magic (8)
Toronto Raptors (2) v Brooklyn Nets (7)
Boston Celtics (3) v Philadelphia 76ers (6)
Indiana Pacers (4) v Miami Heat (5)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Los Angeles Lakers (1) v Portland Trail Blazers (8)
Los Angeles Clippers (2) v Dallas Mavericks (7)
Denver Nuggets (3) v Utah Jazz (6)
Houston Rockets (4) v Oklahoma City Thunder (5)
The Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers, back in the play-offs for the first time in seven seasons, have also gone an unimpressive 3-5 in seeding games.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Co - inspired this season by the memory of Lakers great Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in January - will be up against the battle-hardened and experienced Portland tomorrow.
The Trail Blazers (35-39) won four successive down-to-the-wire games - including the maiden play-in tournament against the Grizzlies on Saturday - to grab the final play-off berth.
After pacing his team with 31 points in the 126-122 victory over Memphis, Blazers guard Damian Lillard, who was named the league's top player of the restart, fired a warning to the Lakers (52-19) that they had no intention of going home early.
"We can beat anybody, so now we just gotta get rested and get ready for the next thing," he said. "You know our work is just beginning.
"(The Lakers) are the No. 1 seed for a reason. But at the same time, we didn't fight as hard as we fought in the 'bubble' to just say, 'All right, we're the eighth seed', and just go out there and get beat up on. We feel like we have a chance in a series against anyone in this league."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
