Extremely tough start to Lakers schedule is a blessing in disguise for LA
By Jason Reed
We still have some time until the Los Angeles Lakers play basketball games that officially count towards the team’s 2022-23 season and there is a lot to solve in the preseason before then. While preseason outcomes don’t matter, the play we see on the court does matter and should not be taken lightly.
Los Angeles is going to have to become a well-oiled machine quickly as they are not getting a chance to ease into the 2022-23 season. While the year was already going to be tough in a talented Western Conference, the Lakers have had the deck stacked against them in the early portions of the season.
The first 15 games on the Lakers schedule are particularly hard. And while that seems like a small sample size, that is nearly one-quarter of the entire season. Getting through this stretch will be a struggle.
lakers first 15 regular season games include: warriors, clippers (twice) nuggets (twice) nets, minnesota & cavs as most notable games pic.twitter.com/9NwLmqCOB8
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) October 4, 2022
Of those 15 games, there are eight in which the Lakers are going to be big underdogs and will be expected to lose. Of course, LA could still win those games, but they could also drop the marginal games against teams like the Kings, Pistons, Pelicans and Trail Blazers.
This tough start is exactly what Lakers fans should want.
While it would be unfortunate from a fan’s perspective to see the Lakers stumble out of the gate, in the long run, this is beneficial for the Lakers. The last thing that fans should want is an easy schedule to start of the season that inflates the team to think it is better than it really is.
Instead, we are going to get a much more realistic idea of how good this team really is and how far they can potentially take this season. Of course, a lot can change over the course of an 82-game season but these first 15 games are going to be a catalyst of that change.
If the Lakers come out and boast a 10-5 record or better after these 15 games then there actually might be change that the team can be excited about. However, if they come out and having a losing record and things are already looking ugly then they will get their answer about Russell Westbrook.
That is obviously the biggest storyline that is hanging over Los Angeles this season and the sooner the team decides Westbrook’s future in LA the better. If that slow start results in them telling him to go home, and eventually prompting them to be more aggressive in trading him, then so be it.
This hard start, mixed with the tanking competition for Victor Wembanyama, may result in a Russell Westbrook trade much sooner than we ever could have expected.
I am sure just about every Lakers fan would sacrifice some wins early in order to get Russell Westbrook off of the roster this season.