Getty Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey.
It’s been about two months since an NBA game was played and while it will still take some time to get back into things, there’s certainly more optimism about a return than there was when the league was first put on suspension. The Los Angeles Lakers were on a roll when games stopped being played and how they’ll look when they return to the court is a big question mark. However, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey believes that the Lakers have an advantage over some teams.
“This time will help us more than others. It might help the Lakers, too,” Morey told ESPN’s Mason and Ireland. “I think the more veteran teams, they’re going to have more professional guys during this period to keep themselves ready. We’re the oldest team, and time off can, in a relative sense, help more veteran, older teams.”
These are unprecedented times, so it makes sense why Morey would believe that teams with a lot of veterans will bounce back. That said, it’s hard to know how players’ bodies will react to stopping in the middle of the season and starting back up. That could end up hurting the older guys. Something like this hasn’t happened to the NBA. There are no clear answers on what might happen when games start getting played again.
LeBron James Better Than Michael Jordan?
With The Last Dance documentary sweeping the nation, the debate between who is the greatest basketball player of all time has been reignited. Typically, LeBron James and Michael Jordan are thought to be number one and two. However, not everybody agrees which order you should rank them. Morey thinks the answer is easy.
“People love to talk about this. For sure LeBron is the greatest human to play basketball. That’s not even a question, but it’s not even fair to Michael Jordan to say that. LeBron is years later and the game has evolved. And every athlete is pretty much better than the athletes were 30 years ago.
“If you put MJ in the league now, that would be an interesting discussion but if you just want to say who is the best human to ever play basketball, I think it’s pretty obvious.”
From a physical standpoint, an argument can be made that LeBron is the most impressive athlete in the history of sports. Jordan was great, but he doesn’t have the physical attributes that LeBron boasts. As Morey pointed out, it might not even be really fair to compare the two. Unless LeBron goes on a tear to end his career and wins a few more championships, the debate will probably rage on for years to come.
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Lakers Have Plans to Return to Practice
As more is known about the COVID-19 outbreak, NBA teams are starting to take steps to return to practice. While some teams can open earlier than others, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Lakers will return on May 19.
There are many protocols in place, so it will still take some time before the full team can start practicing together. Regardless, this is a step in the right direction and indicates that there’s a good chance the season doesn’t get canceled.
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