The Los Angeles Lakers were sitting atop the Western Conference with a 49-14 record when the 2019-20 NBA season was suspended due to the coronavirus.
Unfortunately, they are now resorted to what essentially amounts as an early offseason for the entire league. LeBron James acknowledged that the untimely break has left his body in a state of flux.
Of course, James is not the only one going through basketball withdrawals. Alex Caruso is also adjusting to quarantine life replacing the daily grind.
Caruso admits that the timing of the hiatus was hardly ideal for them, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers:
Probably the most frustrating part is how much this season meant to us as players, coaches, organization and fans. With everything that’s gone on the past several years, and obviously the Kobe situation, everybody was really looking forward to finishing out the season and getting to the playoffs. Now that it’s prolonged, it’s just frustrating. All of us on the team, our favorite thing to do is play basketball, and for that to be momentarily taken away puts things into perspective. It’s kind of an enlightening moment, just to not take it for granted. Whether you’re in your first full season like me, or 17th for LeBron.
Caruso added that he will not hesitate to get back onto the court once it is deemed safe:
As soon as they can get it back started they’re going to try to, and obviously safety is the highest priority. You gotta make sure everybody is healthy. But obviously, as soon as we can get basketball back, that’s what we want to do. For us as the Lakers and fans of us, they want to see us reach the ultimate goal, which is what we’ve talked about since the beginning of the year. We’re still in that mindset, it’s just on a hiatus until we get back to playing. It depends on how long we’re out of the practice facility. I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to get back to the practice facility once everybody is cleared, but we’ll see what happens. Things are changing on the hour, every hour.
NBA players around the league have been passing the time coming up with their own home workouts. Unfortunately, even the most grueling session is unable to simulate what occurs in the game.
There is no question that players will need some time to get back into the swing of things once league play resumes. Of course, it will be difficult for them to make the necessary adjustments with no definitive timetable in sight.
Caruso’s status as a fan favorite in Los Angeles has helped him take the league by storm, but it is clear that he is just focused on trying to maintain the playing shape he was in before the hiatus began.