LOS ANGELES — When Tyson Chandler joined the Lakers this year, he seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle. The team promptly ripped off a four-game winning streak upon his arrival, and proceeded to win 14 of their next 19 games, with Chandler’s impact as a voracious screen-setter amping up the Lakers’ offensive efforts and his defense helping the team thrive in the same non-JaVale McGee minutes that had been killing them before Chandler’s arrival as a capable backup.
Five games later, LeBron James suffered a groin injury that would cost him the next 18 games, and the rest is history.