First Five
December 22nd vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Win (1-0)
The Lakers will come out and make a statement on opening night against the Los Angeles Clippers and remind them of who the reigning champs are and who the real LA team is. Montrezl Harrell will suit up against the Clippers for the first time in his career and he might go off as well. Let’s not forget that the Lakers were already better than the Clippers and certainly widened the gap even more this winter.
December 25th vs. Dallas Mavericks: Win (2-0)
Christmas Day is always a day the Lakers seem to be playing on national television and there’s no way they will falter in primetime. Anthony Davis will not allow it to happen and there’s no way LeBron James will allow it to happen either. The Lakers will take down the two-headed monster of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis to give fans a Christmas present of their own.
December 27th vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Win (3-0)
The Minnesota Timberwolves have some intriguing pieces like first overall pick Anthony Edwards and 2019 first-rounder Jarrett Culver, surrounded by former Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell and star center Karl-Anthony Towns. Still, the Lakers are the better team and in the third game of a home stand, they should be in their groove.
December 28 vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Loss (3-1)
The Lakers will take on a team that they walloped in the playoffs last season, but the thing is, it is a new-look roster. The Blazers still have Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum along with a healthy Jusuf Nurkic, but they made a critical addition of elite wing defender Robert Covington.
RoCo is the type of player the Blazers needed against the Lakers and likely would have given LA more issues if they had him in tow. Covington’s presence with the Lakers on a back-to-back hands them their first loss of the season.
December 30 @ San Antonio Spurs: Win (4-1)
The San Antonio Spurs are not the team that they were earlier in the 2000s. There’s no more Duncan, Ginobli, Parker, etc. They have DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge mixed in with a bunch of pieces who don’t exactly fit the Gregg Popovich scheme. The Lakers should take care of business with ease in this one after losing to the Blazers.