The Lakers entered this season not only favored to repeat as NBA champions, but overwhelmingly so. Those title aspirations have never felt less realistic than Sunday night, when the Lakers self-destructed in an embarrassing loss to the shorthanded and lottery-bound Toronto Raptors in which LeBron James made an early exit after experiencing pain in his right ankle.
But the Lakers did not fall out of pole position overnight. Their repeat bid has been pocked with warning signs from the pretty much the end of last year’s charmed bubble run, when the league quickly turned the page to a new season, leaving the Lakers only six weeks between Game 6 of the NBA Finals and the start of training camp.
