The NBA has quietly set the Los Angeles Lakers up to fail immediately

The Los Angeles Lakers are no strangers to adversity. They've achieved more over the past five seasons than a vast majority of franchises, winning a championship in 2020 and reaching the Conference Finals in 2023, but they've also missed the playoffs once and lost in the first round twice.

As Los Angeles prepares for the official dawn of the JJ Redick era, the NBA has set them up for one of their toughest challenges to date.

Los Angeles will begin the 2024-25 NBA regular season on Tuesday, October 22 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It will be the first of three straight home games to begin the year, which most would agree is an advantageous way to begin the campaign.

That three-game home stint has masked a schedule, however, that will challenge the Lakers in a way that could quickly define the trajectory of their season.

Following the three games at home, Los Angeles will go on a five-game road trip. That will start with a clash with the Phoenix Suns and continue with encounters with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies.

A five-game road trip between the fourth and eighth games of the regular season is a bizarre way to kick off a new year, but it only scratches the surface of how the NBA failed the Lakers.

Lakers will kick off 2024-25 with a brutal schedule

Los Angeles will play its first back-to-back in the second and third games of the 2024-25 regular season. Two days later, the aforementioned five-game road trip will begin, meaning the Lakers will play three games in four days and spend 10 consecutive days away from home.

That's a stretch that teams are accustomed to enduring further into the season, but Los Angeles will be facing that challenge before they can even get their legs under them.

In addition to playing a back-to-back and five straight road games within the first eight outings of the season, Los Angeles won't see much rest overall. It'll play its first 10 games in 20 days, as well as 21 in 42, and has a back-to-back waiting for it in Utah and Minnesota just as that stretch concludes.

The Lakers will then play at the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks within the next four days, host the Portland Trail Blazers just 48 hours later, and then commence its defense of the NBA Cup.

This is an issue that many teams have discussed over the years, as the NBA schedule often produces grueling stretches that teams inevitably struggle to navigate. The Lakers will unfortunately face that reality earlier than most.

Some might argue that it could benefit Los Angeles to endure this type of stretch as early as possible, but a poor showing could tank their dreams of ideal postseason seeding.

Every team will face challenges, of course, and the Lakers shouldn't be immune to anything that other franchises encounter. Immediate back-to-backs and five-game road trips would wear on any team, however, and the NBA shoulders the blame with its questionable schedule construction.

The Lakers could prove stronger for navigating this rocky terrain, but rather than easing teams into a new season, the Association has given Los Angeles a physically grueling challenge from Day 1.