Los Angeles Lakers should take advantage of their schedule in January
With the new year almost here, the Los Angeles Lakers have a good chance to take advantage of an easier schedule in January.
The Los Angeles Lakers are limping towards the end of 2017 after having a rough December. They have lost 6 of their last 7, played the Golden State Warriors for the 2nd and 3rd time of the season, and lost Lonzo Ball to injury for the next week at least.
The team will most likely be happy about getting to the new year in January. They’ll probably be ready to set some New Year’s resolutions, and reverse the direction of this season that has led to an 11-21 record. Other than the holiday, this will be a good time to turn things around with a favorable January schedule coming.
New Year, New Lakers?
A few things make this January look promising for the Los Angeles Lakers. To start off, 7 of the 15 January games are against teams with losing records. In addition to that, 8 of the 15 games are at the Staples Center. 3 of those home games come all in a row, against beatable teams. These teams include the Hornets (who the Lakers have already beat), the Sacramento Kings (who they’ve beat 2 out of 3 times), and the Atlanta Hawks. Even the road games can be seized, with 4 of the 7 games coming against teams with losing records.
Continued Lonzo/Kuzma Improvement
Another point of optimism for January is the improvement of Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball in the past few games. Kyle Kuzma has averaged 27.8 ppg in the past 5 games, while Lonzo Ball has averaged 16.5 ppg, 6.5 apg, and 7.0 rpg in the past 4 games. Lonzo sprained his shoulder, but he will hopefully be back next week. He will be returning to the relatively easy schedule in January, where he can continue his rise with Kuz.
Next: Ranking the 50 greatest Lakers of all-time
Here’s to hoping the schedule paired with the continued improvement of the Lakers young players can lead to a better record in January compared to December. The team will need it with the gap getting wider between them and other playoff contenders in the west.