The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a much slower start than expected in the 2021-22 season. The team that was expected to be the title favorites in the Western Conference is barely looking like a play-in team, taking the back seat to teams like the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.
We are over a quarter of the way into the season and the Lakers have to figure it out sooner or later. The month of December could prove to be a huge month for the Lakers, who can hopefully start to catch fire and climb the Western Conference standings.
The Lakers have 14 games in the month of December and we decided to predict the outcome of all 14 with what we know about the team.
Predicting every Los Angeles Lakers game in December
December 3 vs Los Angeles Clippers: Loss
LeBron James was just put into the NBA’s health and safety protocols and it is unclear how long he is going to be out of action. One thing is for certain: he likely won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers have not been great this season and are missing Kawhi Leonard. However, Paul George has really elevated his play and the Clippers are a more cohesive unit than the Lakers are right now.
December 7 vs Boston Celtics: Win
The Lakers fell to the Boston Celtics in the first matchup between the two rivals and this time at home they will get the job done. LeBron could be back by this game if he produces two false negatives but either way, the Lake Show will get revenge on the Celtics.
There is no way Dennis Schroder has the kind of game that he had the first time around with Lakers Nation booing him in LA.
December 9 at Memphis Grizzlies: Win
The hope is that the Lakers eventually figure it out and can get on a roll and if they do figure it out they should beat a team like Memphis every single time. This is going to be a close and gritty road game for the Lakers but with no Ja Morant the Lakers should get it done.
December 10 at Oklahoma City Thunder: Win
The Lakers already have one embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and while this is a road back-to-back, I highly doubt they are going to suffer defeat to the Thunder again. The Thunder are in play for the no. 1 overall pick and it is really hard to lose to a team like that twice in the first three months of the season.
That being said, nothing would surprise me with this Lakers team anymore.