The good news for the L.A. Lakers is that they’ll get the most hectic part of their schedule out of the way to begin the season. But that is also the bad news.
Without Andrew Bynum, without a proper training camp and without Phil Jackson the Lake Show starts the 2011-12 NBA season with three games in three consecutive nights.
On Christmas Day the curtain goes up on the Lake Show as they welcome reigning MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls to Staples. That same night they’ll catch a quick flight up to Sacramento to do battle with their NorCal rivals the King. Then it’ back to L.A. to take on the Utah Jazz. Beyond that, we’ll just have to wait for the official release of the NBA schedule slated for later today.
Being that the league is cramming 66 games into a window that will still allow the playoffs to begin as they regularly do all teams will have at least one stretch of games like the one the Lakers will endure to kickoff the Mike Brown era. Still, this is a tough road to walk when you factor in all the uncertainty going into the season.
Obviously we’d love to see the Lakers get the season off to a flying start by taking all three contests. However I’d be happy with a solid effort and no injuries. The wins will come so long as the heart of a champion is on display. Health, on the other hand, is a fickle mistress that can cause havoc on a team’s hopes.
Hopefully Coach Brown is already putting together a plan that will allow his vets to get maximum rest given the minimal time off. Of course first he’ll have to get a practice or two under his belt to gauge his new squad.