The NBA had suspended their 2019-20 season due to the pandemic. There was no NBA basketball for fans for about 142 days. Though the season did resume, it would take place in a bubble. The NBA Bubble was something fans of this generation did not expect to watch basketball in.
There were multiple new rules and changes to the remaining regular-season games. The Play-In tournament we know today originated from this Bubble. The regular-season games were cut 10 games short and only 22 teams were invited to the Bubble. Ultimately, this long and complicated structure worked out and in the end, the Lakers were crowned the 2020 NBA champions.
Are the remaining playoff teams better than the LeBron’s 2020 Lakers?
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This postseason was full of surprises and entertaining playoff games. The Warriors finally assembled their big 3 back and have made it to the West Finals. The Mavs beat the Devin Booker’s Suns to advance to the Conference Finals. Whereas in the East, the Heat and the Celtics will have a rematch of the 2020 East Finals. All these four teams have played exceptionally well in the regular season as well as the postseason. Compared to LeBron’s 2020 Lakers, these teams have played better basketball and the fans on Twitter seem to agree.
Every single on. Bubble chip was a fluke season.
— MavsPepe (@richelli234) May 16, 2022
All 2022 Conference Finals teams > Lakers bubble year asterisk champs
— Frank Viloria 🇵🇭🇺🇸 とらえどころ (@DJ_ILLusive45) May 16, 2022
All of them
— Matías Bozzo Lara (@Botzillo) May 16, 2022
All of them. Bubble chip is the fakest chip of all time
— shiggins03 (@shiggins03) May 16, 2022
All 4. Except maybe Dallas.
— shut up about it (@shutupaboutit91) May 16, 2022
All 4 lol
— 4pointsmoveon (@moveonjob) May 16, 2022
I would say all.
— Eric (@DerozanFan10) May 16, 2022
The 2022 Miami Heat looks much improved and as motivated as they were in the 2020 Finals. The team took care of the Hawks and Joel Embiid‘s Sixers in the playoffs and will meet the Celtics in the East Finals. The Warriors are back with Klay Thompson with youngsters who are helping in the scoring department. With their tallest player being just 6’9, the Dubs managed to beat Jokic’s Nuggets and the Grizzlies.
And the Mavs surprised everyone as they closed out the series against Jazz mostly without Luka. Though the 2020 Lakers had great players, the current teams would still have an edge over them.
Young talent versus LeBron James
The current playoff teams have exceptional young talent with elite veterans leading the team. Players like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Jordan Poole have taken over this postseason. All four teams have averaged a combined 36.3% from the arc compared to the 2020 Lakers’ 35.4% 3-point average in the Bubble’s postseason.
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LeBron, AD, and Dwight Howard would be going against teams who don’t rely on size. These 3 big men would be enough on the offense, but to stop the shots from distance would be tough. Not only young elite players, but each team’s role players have contributed a lot.
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The current teams will have a scoring advantage over the Lakers, but not a slight advantage on rebounds. It wouldn’t be fair to declare a clear winner based on the Lakers’ current roster and not their 2020 lineup.