4. Do not lose two games in a row
At the start of last season, Anthony Davis gave his team this challenge when he said that the Lakers “never want to lose two games in a row.” He suggested that with the talent present on the Lakers roster that they should not lose two games in a row all season.
They ended up losing back-to-back games three times last season and even had a peculiar stretch where they lost four games in a row.
This year has a slightly tweaked roster, and there will be 10 fewer games than a normal season, so there might be a better chance to accomplish this lofty goal.
Last season when LeBron was asked how realistic this goal was, he replied by saying
"“What do you mean how realistic is it? The realistic is the mindset,” James explained. “Sometimes you lose games in a row, it happens. But (it’s about) having that mindset and that approach.”"
Clearly, the two stars on the team had the whole roster buying into this mindset of not letting losses carry over into the next game and not starting any losing streaks.
A pandemic has created a need for less travel, and that in turn has created a weird schedule set up kind of similar to an MLB schedule where a team plays another one multiple times in a row. Four times during the year the Lakers will play the same team twice in a row, so it is doubtful they will lose two straight in any of those types of matchups.
The toughest test the Lakers will have on the schedule to prevent two losses in a row will be either when they have two games in two nights on the road in January against the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Or it could be when they face two of the top Eastern Conference teams in the league in late February, they play the Brooklyn Nets and the Miami Heat in back-to-back games at the Staples Center.
If the Lakers do accomplish this tough goal, then it is hard to see them losing two games in a row in a series in the playoffs.
Kyle Kuzma perhaps said it best last season when he proclaimed,
“Great teams, they try to not lose two in a row,”
If this Lakers team wants to be great like last season, then they should try to complete this resolution.