Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking Down the 2018-19 Schedule

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TARRYTOWN, NY – AUGUST 12: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings poses for a portrait during the 2018 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on August 12, 2018 at the Madison Square Garden Training Facility in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

With the Bad, Comes Some Good

There’s rarely going to be times throughout the season where the Lakers have stretches of easy competition. They’ll have to have laser focus all season to even get in the playoffs in the West. However, there are some small stretches where the Lakers will have easier competition that will allow the Lakers to pad their overall record or at least chill for a second.

One of those stretches will actually follow the tough opening stretch to the season that was discussed above. A six-game stretch from November 10th through the 21st includes four away games, but all games come against average if not sub-par competition. All but one of the teams are projected to miss the playoffs (Miami being the only one, barely projected to make it in the East), while four of the six teams are projected to win less than 35 games. The Lakers may be spending some time on the road, but it should still be a welcomed change of pace from the grueling beginning.

The Lakers will later enjoy a pretty easy stretch following the Christmas Day matchup against the Warriors. They’ll start off the five-game stretch close to home in Sacramento against the lowly Kings. After that they’ll enjoy four straight games at home against the Clippers, Kings (again), Thunder, and the Knicks. The matchup against the Thunder will be a hard one (a game I mentioned in the notable matchups at the top) but all the other games will be against teams who are projected to miss the playoffs by a mile. The home game stretch would be appreciated no matter what, but the home stand being against such low competition should allow the Lakers to go on a run going into the dog days of the NBA season.

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