Los Angeles Lakers: Team to be tested in month of March

With the month of March here, the Los Angeles Lakers will be challenged by a tough schedule.

The Los Angeles Lakers have come out strong following the All-Star break. They’re 3-0 so far due to great play from Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram. They’ve also received an extra boost from the return of Lonzo Ball.

This is coming off a promising start to 2018, where the Lakers had gone 12-10 before the All-Star break. The good play in January and February was greatly appreciated from the fans, as the Lakers had a terrible December. Sadly, the team might return to their December struggles against tough teams in the month of March.

Lakers’ Challenging Schedule

The Lakers got lucky scheduling for their first few games after the All-Star break. They may have had to play three games in four days, but the competition was sub-par at best. They played the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, and the Atlanta Hawks to start off the rest of the season. These teams are three of the worst in the NBA, and definitely won’t get the Lakers prepared for what’s in front of them.

The Lakers’ next game is on March 1st in Miami against the Heat. The Heat may only be 31-29 currently, but they’re a huge step up in competition from the Mavs, Kings, and Hawks. Things only get worse for the team in the rest of the 14 games in March.

On the Road Again

To start off, the Lakers are going to be doing a lot of traveling. Of their 15 March games, 9 are in the first 16 days of the month, with 4 being on the road. In fact, during the whole month, 8 of the 15 games will be played on the road for the squad. The bulk of these road games will be during a 4 game trip from March 19th to the 26th. During the trip they’ll visit the Pacers, the Pelicans, the Grizzlies, and the Pistons.

The travel will be a problem, but the skill level the Lakers will be playing against is the real problem. In the 15 games the Lakers play in March, 11 of them will be against teams with winning records. For comparison, in the month of December where the Lakers went 3-11, they played 11 out of 14 against teams with winning records. You would think the Lakers would play better now as the team has shown true progress across the board since then, but you never know.

Key Games in March

Although each game will be important for the team going towards a very important offseason for the Lake Show, there’s a few that should be circled on the schedule.

March 7th – Magic @ Lakers

The Lakers will get a chance at revenge early on in the month, as they will be welcoming the Orlando Magic to town. The Lake Show suffered what was arguably their worst loss of the season against the Magic on January 1st. They lost 127-105, which is definitely a rough blowout loss, but it is even worse when you consider the Magic played without Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic, two of their best players. They should easily beat them at home, especially with a bad taste in their mouth from last month.

March 11th – Cavs @ Lakers

Towards the middle of the month we will get to welcome back our old friends, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. The two were traded last month in a trade that was very beneficial for both sides. The Lakers received Isaiah Thomas and a first-round pick while the Cavs got younger in their pursuit of a 4th straight Finals appearance. The game will also have LeBron James playing in what may be his future home court, as he has been heavily rumored to be considering the Lakers in his impending free agency.

March 14th – Warriors @ Lakers

This game doesn’t have many story lines attached to it as the first two games have. This is a key game because of where it falls on the schedule and who it falls against. The Golden State Warriors are the reigning champs and they happen to catch the Lakers on the second game of a back-to-back. The Lakers will have to travel to the Bay Area after playing a home game against the Denver Nuggets on March 13th. Back-to-backs are rough on young teams, and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond to the adversity against the Warriors.

March 22nd – Lakers @ Pelicans

Another revenge game, with the team visiting the New Orleans Pelicans for the first time since their February 14th matchup. The Lakers lost 139-117 in a very weird game. Isaiah Thomas and Rajon Rondo were questionably ejected in the first quarter after an altercation. Luke Walton also ended up getting ejected early to join Thomas.

All while that was going on, the team was playing no defense. The Pelicans actually set a franchise record for first quarter points with 46. They also scored their most on the season, all led by Anthony Davis’s 42 points and 15 rebounds. The Pelicans aren’t a top-tier team, so the Lakers will look to put up more of a fight this time around.

March happens to be the last full month for the team, as the season ends April 11th. They’ll probably miss the playoffs again as they head into a crucial offseason. Magic and Pelinka will look to add Paul George and/or LeBron James in free agency and return to the glory of their championship days.

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To attract those two guys to Los Angeles, the Lakers will have to show they have what it takes to play at a high level and that they just need one or two more guys to compete for a championship. That’s why the month of March will be very important for the team.

Let’s just hope the high competition doesn’t intimidate them.