The NBA has made the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida, its temporary home to end the season, but Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis approaches the games as if they were part of a extended road trip.
“Just treat it like a game routine away from home,” Davis said in a video conference with reporters Tuesday when asked what his game day ritual will be like in Orlando. “It just goes into that format.”
It was a format that suited the Lakers well before the hiatus that began in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 26-6 record on the Los Angeles highway was not only the best in the league, it was also a great historical display. The Lakers’ .813 win percentage on the road was the second-best in franchise history and the third-best in league history, according to data compiled by ESPN Stats & Information, behind only the Golden State. Warriors 2015 (.829) and the 1971 -72 Lakers (.816).
Kyle Kuzma, who Lakers coach Frank Vogel called this week “one of our best players since this restart,” was LA’s top player on the road this season. He averaged 2.8 more points on the road compared to at home, which was the eighth-biggest difference in the league among players preparing for at least 40 games this season. JaVale McGee was impressive, too, increasing his accuracy on field goal attempts by 12.5% during away games, good for the third-best in the league for players with at least 250 shot attempts.
But the highway atmosphere about 2,500 miles from Southern California won’t feel like the hostile sands the Lakers have become accustomed to conquering this season.
The three courts on the property are The Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports, HP Field House, and VISA Athletic Center, and all three will have a similar aesthetic: a large NBA logo featuring the ball, “Black Lives Matter” on block letters near the sideline, a closed plexiglass transmission booth near the center court, multi-level team benches that allow for social distancing and a variety of video screens surrounding the action where everything can be displayed type of images.
And the venues will have something else in common: There are no fans in the stands.
“It’s going to be different without people,” Lakers guard Danny Green said Tuesday. “There’s probably going to be less pressure. It’s going to be interesting to see how the guys operate, like if the numbers go up or down depending on whether they have fans in the building or not. So we’ll see how that goes.”
Not that Orlando is foreign territory for the Lakers. In his 17 league seasons, LeBron James has gone 17-16 in games in Orlando, including the playoffs. Vogel trained the Orlando Magic before lurking on the sidelines at the Staples Center. Dwight Howard was the Magic superstar when the team opened their nearby arena in 2010.
But that familiarity with the Amway Center will be of little consequence when it comes to playing in the bubble.
“It will be like pickup games at LA Fitness that I think people are interested in seeing because there is going to be a lot of trash,” Green said. “There will be a lot of insults. Hopefully less technical, even though the referee will listen much more.”
“But as I said, it’s going to be interesting to see how the numbers are going considering the fact that there is no advantage on the local court, there are no fans or anyone watching over you and the lights are not as bright as they would normally be in a stage where we can only play in the playoffs. “
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