That is to say, stronger than the asterisk crowd seems to think it is.

>pretty sure players and humanity, in general, had something
>else on their mind in 2020 that might have been a distraction
>from basketball

So the Lakers were able to deal with ALL THAT, and come together in oursuit of rhe ultimate goal of their profession?

Keep in mind, Kobe died that year.

>you had players OPENLY describing that they felt like they
>were going in to do a bid and they weren't even in it fully. A
>few of them straight up refused to go (Paul George being the
>most glaring example)

So the Lakers had the discipline to NOT do that shit?
They had the focus and intensity to hone in on their goal?

>kyrie was actively trying to get the players union to not go,
>or boycott it.

Cool. So the Lakers played through that adversity, correct?

>playing in that environment in orlando came with its own set
>of unique difficulties but it wasn't the same NBA playoffs
>that we all love
I
...So the Lakers played through those extra difficulties- while having the same general set of beneficial circumstances that everyone else had, and won, correct?

Everything you just said casts the Lakers- and this chip- in a more positive light- while simultaneously shitting on those other players and teams.

Objectively, each of those comments is a point for the Lakers, and takes one away from the rest of the league.

And they don’t exactly make the Lakers chip look any weaker than a “normal” chip.

In the grand scheme of the give and take of this, and with everyone being more or less on an even playing field, apart from things that would generally plague any given team in any given playoffs, such as injuries.... it’s really not that much different than any other chip.

Oh, players shot better? Cool.
Nobody shot well enough to beat the Lakers