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Breaking Down the Lakers Next 6 Weeks Without Kobe Bryant

By Fern Rea

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Dec 6, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Jodie Meeks (20) reacts after a three point basket against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 106-100. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

It was announced today by the Los Angeles Lakers that Kobe Bryant will be out 6 weeks with a left knee injury. It appears that Kobe sustained the injury in the 3rd quarter of the win against the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night. Kobe went down at the 3:25 mark following an attempted move in the post against Tony Allen of the Grizzlies. Kobe delayed in getting up and remained hunched over, holding his left knee as he glanced over to the Lakers bench with a distressed look on his face. All appeared to be well as Kobe returned to the floor following the timeout and closed out the game, even hitting a clutch 3 pointer from deep range in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter. As it turned out, all was not well and Kobe apparently played the remaining portion of the game with a fracture in his knee.

Here is a breakdown of the Lakers schedule over the next 6 weeks:

  • 6 weeks would be from 12/19/13 to 1/30/14.
  • Lakers play 21 games in the 6 week span
  • The combined record of the 21 teams is currently 258-275, equating to a .484 winning percentage.
  • 11 of the 21 teams are currently playoff teams
  • 8 of the next 21 games are home games
  • 13 of the next 21 games are road games
  • Longest home stand will be 4 games, starting Dec. 29th to Jan. 5th: Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Utah, Denver in that order.
  • Longest road trip will be 7 games, starting Jan. 15th to Jan. 26th: Phoenix, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, New York in that order.
  • The 7 game road trip is preceded by a mini 3 game road trip, from Jan. 7th to Jan 10th against Dallas, Houston and the Clippers respectively. The Lakers play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 14th. Before heading out on the 7 game trip which will make it 10 road games out of 11 in this span.
  • Lakers will play on the second night of a back to back 5 times in this span, all of which are on the road.
  1. Minnesota 12/20, at Golden State 12/21
  2. at Dallas 1/7, at Houston 1/8
  3. Cleveland 1/14, at Phoenix 1/15
  4. at Toronto 1/19, at Chicago 1/20
  5. at Miami 1/23, at Orlando 1/24

As of today the Lakers’ record is 12-13 and they are 11th in the Western Conference which would put them outside of the playoff picture if the season ended today.

If we go chalk (bet the odds on favorite to win) with the next 21 games the Lakers would go 8-13, putting their record at 20-26 when Kobe is expected to return.

The Lakers did play slightly better than .500 ball just prior to Kobe’s return, but that performance will be very difficult to duplicate now they’ll also be without any of their 3 point guards and face a much tougher schedule. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look favorable for the Lakers to make any type of playoff run this season. On the flip side, for those in favor of the Lakers tanking the season for a high lottery pick, it is starting to look very favorable.

You can reach me at the my Twitter handle, @fullcourtfern, to discuss this article, anything Lakers or NBA related, or if you want to invite me to go grab a beer somewhere in L.A. You’re paying of course.

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