Every week, Mark Medina shares his thoughts and insights on the latest NBA topics for RG. In this installment, he discusses why the NBA is resuming games in Los Angeles while wildfires persist.
In what marked their first practice since wildfires swept different parts of Los Angeles, the LA Clippers received an audio reminder that the issue still permeates the city.
Shortly after the Clippers completed a 90-minute practice Sunday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. police car sirens blared outside of the the team’s practice facility. That scene encapsulated the complex decision the NBA currently weighs with its two LA teams.
After the NBA postponed its home games against the Charlotte Hornets (Thursday) and the San Antonio Spurs (Saturday), the Lakers (20-16) will play the Spurs (18-19) on Monday at Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA. After the NBA postponed its home game against Charlotte (Saturday), the Clippers (20-17) will play the Miami Heat (20-17) on Monday at Intuit Dome. Considering neither the fires in Pacific Palisades nor in Altadena have been fully contained, did the NBA make the right call to resume play?
Whether that works seems elusive. After all, the NBA already postponed two Lakers home games and one Clippers home game for various reasons.
The first reason: people in both organizations were directly impacted by the wildfires. Lakers coach JJ Redick confirmed he lost his rental home in Pacific Palisades. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard left the team’s game in Denver on Thursday to support his family, though both teammates Nicolas Batum and Terance Mann believe he’s okay. Both teams said staff members lost their homes, too.
The second reason: the NBA said “the game postponements ensure no resources will be diverted from the wildfire response efforts.” The NBA based that conclusion amid conversations the league, Lakers and Clippers have had with local officials in LA and in Inglewood.
It seems plausible for players and coaches to feel relatively more comfortable with preparing for a basketball game than they did last week. Redick and other team staff members have had more time to process their grief over losing their homes. Others have had time to evacuate and make other contingency plans. Both parties may want to use these upcoming games as an outlet.
“I want to coach tomorrow,” Redick said after Friday’s practice.
“I want these guys to play tomorrow and if we can play, we’ll play. I do believe for everybody, for everybody that has been impacted by this, there is a grieving process. There’s a healing process. I can only speak for myself, part of my healing and grieving process is being here with these guys and coaching basketball.”
Does it seem as realistic that the resumed games won’t compromise ongoing wildfire response efforts? That appears more complicated.
The NBA doesn’t have to worry as much as to whether traffic congestion will further disrupt evacuation efforts. Most people in Pacific Palisades and Altadena have already fled. California governor Gavin Newsom said the Kenneth, Sunset and Lidia fires have been fully contained.
Nonetheless, the city has struggled with combating these fires amid strong winds and stretched resources. The Eaton fire (27%) and Palisades fire (13%) still sit at low containment levels.
“I don’t really have a comment on it because it’s above my paygrade,” Mann said. “But a lot of people are dealing with a lot. It’s bigger than basketball.”
The NBA and both LA teams undoubtedly have financial and rescheduling interests to consider. The Lakers specifically plan to host a fan donation drive before the game and retire Michael Cooper’s No. 21 jersey number at halftime. Yet, the NBA has recently made decisions weighing health and business interests by choosing the best of bad options.
After suspending the NBA for four months during the COVID-19 outbreak, the league resumed the 2019-20 in a campus bubble and ensured zero positive tests among players, coaches and staff members because of enforced safety protocols. The NBA oversaw an influx of positive cases and postponed games when it began the 2020-21 season 72 days later. But it ensured the NBA could have a full 82-game season in 2021-22 on its traditional calendar.
“That kind of gave everyone something to turn their TV on something that wasn’t a disaster and wasn’t talking about how many more cases or negative events that were going on,” Lakers guard Gabe Vincent said. “So I think it can be positive.”
The NBA will soon find out.
Mark Medina is a longtime NBA reporter that includes stints as a Lakers blogger with The Los Angeles Times (2010-12), Lakers beat writer with the Los Angeles Daily News (2012-17), Warriors beat writer with Bay Area News Group (2017-19) as well as an NBA reporter/columnist for USA Today (2019-21) and NBA.com (2021-23). Medina is also an NBA insider with Fox Sports Radio and frequent contributor to CBSLA's SportsCentralLA with Jim Hill and with Spectrum Sportsnet.
