The path to title contention is not a particularly difficult thing to envision for the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Lakers will have obstacles that make that journey far from smooth sailing.
The notion of the 2024-25 NBA season being a write-off for Los Angeles has been quickly dismissed. JJ Redick has proven himself capable of getting the best out of the group of players in front of him. The Lakers have undoubtedly committed themselves to playing their best basketball too, showcasing unquestionable effort every game.
If this group truly wants a chance at getting out of the Western Conference and making an appearance in this year's NBA Finals then their ideal path to that outcome will involve locking up the second seed in the Western Conference. The problem is that will be easier said than done.
Lakers will face incredibly tough path to securing the second seed
The strength of schedule for the Lakers' remaining 24 games is not in their favor. Los Angeles has one of the five toughest schedules remaining of any team in the NBA. They rank fifth, exactly, with the opponents left on their slate combining for a winning percentage of .541.
Their schedule involves some big-time fixtures. The Lakers will face Western Conference juggernauts like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets twice each. The silver lining there would be the fact that Los Angeles is in direct competition with the Nuggets for that second seed, meaning securing two head-to-head victories will go a long way.
The Lakers also have a date on their remaining schedule reserved for a matchup against the defending champion Boston Celtics. That matchup will be at TD Garden.
Apart from that, Los Angeles will also have to fend off the Houston Rockets twice, and teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks once each.
The Lakers' challengers do not have it much easier
The good thing for the Lakers is that most of their competition for the second seed will face similarly tough schedules. However, there will be one team amongst that group that has an easier journey to the finish line than the rest.
The Lakers, Nuggets, Grizzlies, and Rockets are the teams who will be jockeying for second.
Denver has, by a slim margin, the toughest schedule left out of these teams. The 22 games left on their schedule feature squads who have combined for a winning percentage of .544. That would represent the third toughest slate of games remaining for any team in the NBA.
Memphis has a slightly easier path than the other two. The winning percentage of their remaining opponents is .524. While the Lakers and Nuggets both have tougher schedules, the Grizzlies still rank within the top 10 as well.
Houston has the easiest schedule of the bunch by a significant margin. The Rockets will face teams whose winning percentage equates to .499. They rank 18th when it comes to strength of schedule across the NBA, and are the only team on this list whose opponents are not above the .500 mark.
The important thing to keep in mind when searching for optimism with relation to the Lakers would be the fact that Los Angeles is currently playing the best basketball of the bunch.
The Grizzlies are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and the Rockets are 5-5. While the Nuggets and Lakers both possess 8-2 records in that same span, Los Angeles took down stronger competition in the process, including a head-to-head victory over Denver. That should offer some strong comfort to Lakers fans begging this team to finish second.