Lakers Home Schedule (merged)

[tcelt]

as anyone seen the lakers schedule which is ridiculus..they team would have played 17 homes bye dec 12 and 4 road games and 19 out of 20...what was the nba thinking

[Roy Hobbs]

While I agree the schedule doesn't make any sense, in the end they'll have to make all of those road games up at some point.  They have two five-game road trips and an eight game trip.  It's definitely fair to argue that the NBA did them a favor by allowing them to gel together as a team at home at the beginning of the year, but hopefully some of the later road trips will take their toll.

[fairweatherfan]

This has been around for awhile - it's why some sports pundits were predicting they'd start 20-1 (yeah not so much).  Just means 37 of their last 61 games will be on the road.  Fine with me.

[Donoghus]

Things seem to always even out in regards to schedule.  Doesn't really phase me.

[PosImpos]

Well, it does seem lame that they so blatantly favor a team when creating the schedule, I think it's good that the Celtics have had a good mix of home and away games.  We're learning to be a confident team on the road early in the season.  That should help us later on (though hopefully we won't need to be on the road too much in the playoffs).

[Celtic]

I think this hurts them more than it helps them.

[Ersatz]

The Lakers schedule is like this every year. It's not a new thing. I agree it has some advantages -- getting gel earlier, etc. -- but it has disadvantages also: they have to do more traveling and play more road games later in the season, when they are more tired and might have more injuries.

You could say the Celtics sometimes have a similar advantage: most years they don't do their first serious road trip until after Christmas, a full two months into the season.

[Prof. Clutch]

As long as their schedule is harder in the second half of the season I'd almost prefer it that way.

[Las Vegas Asian]

The thing that really irks me is that the Lakers essential get 2 more home games than the rest of the league. Guess it wouldn't matter if the Clippers didnt SUCK! How is this fair??? 

[rutzan]

Lakers Homer Schedule

4 Road Games Total

The Lowest in the NBA by far

That's not even counting Clipper games as away games

We may have a shot at best record if we stay healthy

[GreenFaith1819]

Yeah..the Bums

[RMO]

This doesn't bother me so much as it all evens out in the end.  What kills me is that no one in the national media will even mention that they've had a very easy schedule.

[jambr380]

Lakers Homer Schedule

4 Road Games Total

The Lowest in the NBA by far

That's not even counting Clipper games as away games

We may have a shot at best record if we stay healthy

It's interesting you mention the Clipper away games. That has always rubbed me the wrong way. They essentially play 43 home games per year and only 39 road games. In the grand scheme of things, maybe it doesn't make much of a difference, but I know I would love it if there was a second, inferior team here in Boston so we could get a couple of extra home games each year.

Hey, who knows, maybe the Clippers will get really good and steal the hearts of all of the Lakers fans...yeah right.

[BigBaby]

It's not an advantage at all. Means harder road trips rest of the season. If I recall, they have start out with a lot of home games every year because the Grammy awards or something in Staples center.

Best schedule to have is a mix of shorter road trips like we've had so far.

[KJ33]

It's not an advantage at all. Means harder road trips rest of the season. If I recall, they have start out with a lot of home games every year because the Grammy awards or something in Staples center.

Best schedule to have is a mix of shorter road trips like we've had so far.

Disagree.  It is an advantage for the Lakers to have more home games at the beginning of the season when they are still formulating their identity, having added Artest to the mix as well as a healthy Bynum.  Especially as the defending champs, teams are licking their chops to play them when they come to town, and early in the year is when they are most vulnerable.  After the first 21 games, much of those growing pains have been worked out, without having to face teams in their hostile arena during this process.

Sure, they'll have to make up those road games later, but by then they will be more cemented as a team and better able to withstand some career nights by teams whose buildings are sky high when playing them.