I think next season they should skip to the '82 season. Set the tone with a quick recap montage of the '81 season, maybe introduce it with Jerry Buss saying, "So ya think after we won that first title, we were gonna come out guns blazing and do it all over again next year, right?" Then BOOM, follow it up with a quick run through of all the shyt that went wrong - the disagreements, "disease of more", Magic's injury, the first round loss, and then the cherry on top, the Celtics winning the championship and hoisting the trophy Jerry was a year prior.
Now you establish the shytshow going into the beginning of that season and go from there.