For Glenn Rice, the road to the title in the current season will be tough for his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rice says the Lakers are a struggling team while playing under the bubble, which is an isolation zone with strict rules created by the National Basketball Association to protect its players from the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 season.
“In any run for a title, role players have gotta step up. I think it's going to be a collective effort from the role players,” said Rice.
The 54-year-old Rice, who played for NBA teams from 1989 to 2004, shared his thoughts during an online meet-and-greet organized by NBA Philippines via Zoom.
The 6'7" Rice is set to appear with NBA G-League coach Brian Shaw and top NBA rookie draft prospect Jalen Green in the first NBA Republika Playoffs Party on Monday night.
The Lakers made it to the playoffs even before the 2019-2020 season was temporarily suspended on March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
And they will go into a playoff on Tuesday against the Portland Trailblazers, who made it to the next phase after a 126-122 win over the Memphis Grizzlies last Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Rice, who last visited the Philippines three years ago, believes that the Lakers have a good chance to go for the title.
He sees that Lebron James and Anthony Davis, along with JR Smith will be able to make things happen for the Lakers.
“The two (James and Davis), they're exceptional offensive players, and I would say Smith is a much better defender,” said Rice.
But for the Lakers to get past the Trailblazers, James and Davis will need to adjust quickly while playing under the bubble.
“These two guys, they gotta acclimate a lot sooner than they would in a normal situation, because the whole bubble is new to everybody,” said Rice.
Rice explained that teams are playing without the fans inside the bubble, and this is adding a new aspect into the game in the latter part of the season.
“So there's a lot of things that's gotta click fast than normal,” Rice went on.
He observes that many players in the team are also not playing up to par, given the conditions that they are in at the moment.
“I think, what's gotta happen is a lot of role players have gotta catch on to the system. And if they can do that, the Lakers will be fine,” said Rice.
He noted that the Trailbrazers played well against the Grizzlies over the weekend.
“Portland has been remarkable. Everyone else has been playing below par in the course of the season. But, our superstars, they're going to turn things around,” said Rice.
If the Lakers make it through the playoffs, they will be up against the Houston Rockets in the second round.
It is said that their biggest challenger in the West could be the Los Angeles Clippers.