NBA season to test LeBron James ‘ability to defy age expectations, but fatigue could derail LA Lakers’ ambitions

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It’s only been 71 days since the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship. The Lakers will take on rival Clippers in one of two opening games on Tuesday.

In the other game on the opening day, the Golden State Warriors will face Brooklyn Nets.

Unlike the Lakers, the Warriors haven’t played a game since March 10 – 287 days.

These differences between teams can play an important role in the outcome of the season.

The Lakers are favorites to repeat their win in 2020, but as we get deeper into the season, fatigue can set in for a number of returning players.
The Los Angeles Lakers are favorites to win the 2020/21 NBA title, despite having only a 71-day break since winning the title last season.

The team has been busy in the off-season, adding likely starters Marc Gasol, 35, and Wesley Matthews, 34, in addition to reigning NBA sixth man of the year Montrezl Harrell.

The Lakers’ likely starting line-up of James, Anthony Davis, Gasol, Matthews and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope seems formidable. But an average age of 31.6 years on opening night makes it one of the oldest starting fives in NBA history.

LeBron James turns 36 just over a week after the start of the season, and while he continues to defy the age expectations that affect the rest of the league, this next season could be the true test of his greatness as a player and as a player. leader. .

Giannis and the Bucks

One of the biggest off-season stories is the five-year supermax contract extension signed by Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks.

It is worth $ 228.2 million and is the largest in NBA history.

Some thought Antetokounmpo would leave the Bucks, but he remained loyal, saying on social media, “This is my home, this is my city. I am blessed to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s go for it. make these years count. The show goes on, let’s make it. “

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told The Athletic that he hopes Antetokounmpo will follow suit other successful one-team men.

“I know there’s probably more attention and more media out there as guys move and change, but I’m thinking about the guys who stayed,” Budenholzer said.

“For me, a guy like Tim Duncan, a Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, those kind of guys who have stayed in one place and kind of made it their legacy to win championships and win and win at a high level wherever it is that they were set up, be it a big market, a small market. ”

A championship would certainly leave Antetokounmpo a legacy in Milwaukee.

The Bucks dominated the 2019/20 regular season, finishing with the best record in the league.

When the playoffs came, however, the team underperformed, losing its opening game against eighth seed Orlando Magic, before crashing into the semifinals of the Eastern Conference for the eventual number two in the Miami Heat.

Despite the damp end to the season, Antetokounmpo won the NBA MVP for the second year in a row.

For Antetokounmpo’s contract to be worth it, he must both sides give the city its second NBA title – and what better year to do that than the 50th anniversary of his first triumph in 1971.

Will Harden go to Brooklyn?

After his initial robbery, James Harden is back in Houston. But for how long?
While he’s rumored to be happy with a swap for a number of teams, the one that might make the most sense for Harden is going to the Brooklyn Nets, where he could be a super team with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

With those three in black and white in New York City, the Nets would instantly become legitimate contenders.

Will James Harden stay in Houston for the 2020-21 season?

Even if Harden stays with the Rockets, the future doesn’t look bright for the team and could be mutually beneficial if the eight-year relationship comes to an end.

A hard reset for Houston may be the only way out of this situation.

Is the Golden State Dynasty Over?

Between 2015-2019, the Golden State Warriors reached the NBA Finals every season, winning three titles. In 2020, the Warriors finished with the worst record in the entire NBA, with just 15 wins in 65 games.

Missing stars Steph Curry, for most of the season, and Klay Thompson, for all, turned out to be too big a defeat for the team.

In exchange for a dismal season, the team earned the second overall pick in the NBA draft, selecting 7-foot-1-inch center James Wiseman.
Wiseman had a tough year for Memphis, playing only three games for the Tigers, but his talent is unquestionable.
The Warriors are back in line for another season without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

The upcoming season offered the team the hope of proving that the 2019/20 season was a blip, and that the return of Curry and Thompson, along with the addition of Wiseman, could put the team back on track.

Unfortunately, that will not happen. Not because the team will certainly not compete, but because Thompson tore his right Achilles tendon during a training session at the end of November and will serve the season for the second consecutive year.

“I can’t sit here and say I feel good,” said Bob Myers, Warriors general manager. “I have confidence in our players. I have confidence in our coaches. I have confidence in our ownership. We will keep moving. We will never stop. But to be honest, it hurts. It hurts me and I know that. it harms our organization. “

Unless other players come up significantly, it’s hard to see the Warriors prove 2019-20 was a blip.

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