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Analysis: The bubble is the real MVP of this NBA season

Analysis: The bubble is the real MVP of this NBA season

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver waves to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sitting nearby as he attends Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Miami Heat on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver waves to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sitting nearby as he attends Game 2 of basketball’s NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Miami Heat on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.


Mark J. Terrill

AP

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.

The bubble hasn’t burst.

And the finish line is in sight.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledges that he had doubts if this was even possible. So did many players. Racial injustice protests were happening around the country and coronavirus positivity rates were skyrocketing in Florida when the NBA moved into Walt Disney World — the league calls it a campus, everyone else calls it a bubble — three months ago. It wasn’t a stretch to think it was only a matter of time before trouble started.

Never happened. The NBA got the games in and kept the virus out. Players managed to find a balance between what they felt were their basketball obligations and social responsibilities.

This season, a year that was longer than a year and difficult in almost every imaginable way, is nearing an end; the Los Angeles Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat, with a potential title-clincher in Game 5 coming Friday night.

“The job’s not done,” Lakers forward LeBron James said.

He’s right, on many levels. The NBA came here to crown a champion; that hasn’t happened yet. Players came here to use their platform to fight against racial inequality and voter suppression; those efforts continue. And the coronavirus pandemic rages on; no end in sight there, either.

Outside the bubble, problems reign.

Inside the bubble, things are not perfect. It has not been easy. Often, it was not fun.

But it worked.

“I wanted everybody to have perspective on how

… Read the rest
The bubble is the real MVP of this NBA season

The bubble is the real MVP of this NBA season

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The bubble hasn’t burst.



NBA Commissioner Adam Silver waves to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sitting nearby as he attends Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Miami Heat on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

© Provided by Associated Press
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver waves to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sitting nearby as he attends Game 2 of basketball’s NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Miami Heat on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

And the finish line is in sight.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledges that he had doubts if this was even possible. So did many players. Racial injustice protests were happening around the country and coronavirus positivity rates were skyrocketing in Florida when the NBA moved into Walt Disney World — the league calls it a campus, everyone else calls it a bubble — three months ago. It wasn’t a stretch to think it was only a matter of time before trouble started.



Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James celebrates during the second half in Game 4 of basketball's NBA Finals against the Miami Heat Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

© Provided by Associated Press
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James celebrates during the second half in Game 4 of basketball’s NBA Finals against the Miami Heat Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Never happened. The NBA got the games in and kept the virus out. Players managed to find a balance between what they felt were their basketball obligations and social responsibilities.

This season, a year that was longer than a year and difficult in almost every imaginable way, is nearing an end; the Los Angeles Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat, with a potential title-clincher in Game 5 coming Friday night.

“The job’s not done,” Lakers forward LeBron James said.

He’s right, on many levels. The NBA came here to crown a champion; that hasn’t happened yet. Players came here to use their platform to fight for racial inequality and against voter suppression;

… Read the rest