I am guilty. Guilty of standings watching. Guilty of looking at the Lakers’ win/loss record and celebrating it. The Lakers are 7-5! I’ve written joyfully. On here. On twitter. In texts to friends and family and Celtics fans. I am enjoying not just the way the team is playing or the fact they are improved, but the winning. I like winning. I am guilty.
Things are about to get less fun, though. Or at least they should. Matt Moore of CBS Sports tweeted out the Lakers’ upcoming schedule. It is brutal.
Let’s just check in on that upcoming Lakers schedule and pic.twitter.com/brO3yLSxYA
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) November 16, 2016
That…that’s not ideal. Spurs, Warriors twice, Bulls twice, Jazz, Rockets, Grizzlies, Hawks, Raptors, OKC…dammit. That’s a bloodbath of a schedule over the next 12 games. I would imagine the only game the Lakers could be favored in is vs. the Pelicans and maybe not even that game since it is on the road. The Lakers could literally lose 11 of 12 and, in many ways, it wouldn’t even be a surprise. That’s how rough a patch that is.
Now, I want you to think back to before the season. You know, when the rhetoric around the team was the desire to see incremental improvement and play an entertaining brand of basketball. Remember those days? Those days were good times. Not just because they were realistic goals, but because those were actually things that mattered and represented an approach that had been lacking in recent seasons.
Now, 12 games into the season, things have shifted somewhat. We are not only discussing wins from a quantity standpoint, but from a quality one. Yeah, they won, but it was ugly…the starters struggled…they needed to be bailed out by Lou Williams down the stretch. These have become real conversations. I’m not sure how we got to that point so fast, but here we are.
So, this upcoming stretch of games is going to test of resolve, but in way, it will be the fans’ rather than the players. The players are going to go out there and play hard. They’re going to execute. They’re going to try and leverage any advantages they have and minimize their mistakes. We know this because they are of good character, are well coached, and, well, that’s what they have done in the first part of the season.
Some nights they may come out on top, but based on the quality of opponent, it may not happen as often as we have gotten used to. And, for fans, that might get rough. And, if it does, I suggest getting back to the point where you were before the season, when you were looking for incremental progress and simply hoping for the best. I can guarantee, win or lose, you’ll be better off for it.
FredP says
This stretch will be good for the Lakers to see just how much they have improved. As good as the teams are over the next few weeks, they cannot take the night off and still hope to beat the Lakers. There should be a few wins lurking, waiting for the young Lakers to find them.
fidelvti says
Reading between the lines I see some silver linings in this schedule:
1) 5 out of the 6 first games will be at home, only away game to be played at Oakland. A reasonable target is to win 3 out of these 6 games.
2) The road trip starting after these games is not that complicated. I foresee a 2-2 record for these games.
3) I think it’s feasible to beat the Jazz at home and the Rockets on the road.
Record after these 12 games: 14-10.
Too optimistic maybe? 🙂
EuropeanLaker says
Thank you for that great article Darius! Thanks because I wasn’t aware of that schedule. And thank you for the wise words and conclusions. I feel the same and I agree 100%.
Vasheed says
I’m having more fun talking about basketball than lottery odds. Looks at the schedule… Damn you Adam Silver! I’ll be happy if the Lakers play competitively. Who knows, maybe win a few games?
wwlofficial says
fidelvti TOO. haha.
wwlofficial says
We’re currently 7-5 when people have predicted us to be 2-10 at this point. Going into the next 12, if we’d be able to pull out 4 wins out of it, we’d be 11-13 and still be about 6 games above expectations.
fidelvti says
Some additional points about the schedule:
-Three road trips in one month (three!)
-A number of games against the best teams in the Western Conference
I agree with you Vasheed: this schedule looks to be designed by somebody who doesn’t have too much love for the Purple and Gold!
_ Robert _ says
The Bulls are 7-4 and will be playing here on a back to back. The Thunder are 7-5 and just barely beat the Rockets at home, else they would be 5 hundred. We are 4-1 at home. Why are games like these being chalked up as probable L’s already?
My resolve is that these are winnable games. My further resolve is that I am going to be rooting for us to continue playing well (albeit better than all of projections). My further resolve is continue rooting for us to get back into contention. Everything we do is a means to that end. Incremental improvement is great if it is a means we get back into contention eventually.
And yes before someone says it. I am enjoying the ride, but this is not a Sunday car ride around the neighborhood. We have a destination !
KevTheBold says
“Yeah, they won, but it was ugly…” LOL !
Sage article Darius, so true.
Some are still spoiled, even after all these years of desperate starvation, you would think that even a can of beans would solicit a satisfying burp.
Though maybe they think of themselves as ‘perfectionist gourmets’ ;-}.
I sincerely hope that your prep advice will help, and this board won’t turn into a downers bar with shouts of “it’s all rigged!”, or even a ghost town with tumble weeds blowing across the dirt road.
I get a bit irked at the people we only see when they have something to moan about, {didn’t i tell you he was no good, and never will be?} while turning invisible and mute when the players they love to hate, or the team proves them wrong.
Constructive criticism is fair, but holding onto old grudges about picks, or projections that would actually hurt the team, if they turned out to be true, are frustrating, yet at the same time,..amusing.
Here’s to hoping for a few surprises along bloody gauntlet !
i_am_puddle says
If the Lakers are within sniffing distance of .500 after these upcoming 12 games, that’d be a great sign. The schedule is undoubtedly hard, but this young team is tough to beat at home. If they split the 6 home games and go 1-5 on the road, they’re 11-13. I think it’s doable.
_DPeterson_ says
Effort and energy. I want to see consistent effort and energy throughout this stretch. If they leave it all on the floor and compete every night, I can live with the record.
KevTheBold says
_ Robert _
Can it be true,.. did someone hack Robert’s account?
His post is downright positive,..or should I say Upright,..
Welcome to the bright side Robert,..
Just remember, when you go bright, you are in for a fight,..
so be prepared ;-}
Lou2 says
_ Robert _ I like this attitude. But I also know I am going to guard against the abandonment of hope if things to do not go this well.
A Horse With No Name says
Luke has been fantastic. Better than we could have hoped for. That said, I would like to see some higher level prep for our upcoming home games against good to very good teams. Part of that could be introducing more offensive sets than they are currently employing. Luke has made mention of the fact that the team is still at a basic level, as to what this offense can do. It might be time to add a few things (more screen/roll work, more multiple screen movement to free shooters etc.) Also, I think the team could have been better prepared for Dallas and the Nets. In both games the lakers looked to be under prepared: surprised by the defense of both teams, and the triple threat sets of the Nets featuring Lopez. I believe a lot of this falls on Brian Shaw. Let’s give the young guys more stuff and surprise their opponents.
david__h says
Props to you Darius for pointing to these next twelve games
as a barometer/barrage of a haymaker nba schedule for our lakers this early in
the season. Coach Walton will remain
resolute and focus will be placed one game at a time.These next series of games will be
interesting and grueling for sure with a whole lot of ups and downs.If we haven’t already started to form our
opinions on individual player’s abilities, relative to the competition, we
should get a better idea soon enough.
Personally, I look to the all star break to see where these
lakers will be as a team and as individuals relative to the growth and results.
How they finish out the regular season after
the break should further define who they are as a team.
So far this is a great roller coaster ride.Keep it going guys.
Go lakers
david__h says
for laker practice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qchPLaiKocI
barry_g says
“Expectation is the root of all heartache.”
– William Shakespeare
I refuse to adjust my preseason baseline of 25-30 wins so that I can thoroughly enjoy every game this season. Re: the upcoming brutal schedule, 1-11 over the next 12 games is not unreasonable, and is completely fine in the big picture as long as the young guys continue to show development, and the team continues to show unity on both ends of the floor.
A Horse With No Name says
barry_g Well stated, and the quote from the immortal bard takes your post to the top of the backboard.
_ Robert _ says
Kev: Just so you know my account was not hacked:
“Enjoying the Ride” – While we want to enjoy the ride, myself and others will continue to point out when the driver(s) take incorrect turns. We are not sightseeing – we are getting to a destination as quickly as possible. To the extent we can do both – great.
Lou2: If we lose a large number of these upcoming games, I will not abandon hope. However I will be disappointed and for me – “just a kid” won’t be an excuse I will be using for any coaches or players.
adamv37 says
For the next dozen games just keep repeating “I love basketball” and listen to Kendrick Lamar “Alright” on repeat.
“We gon be alright”
Alexander_ says
This Lakers team is for real. The statistics and the eye test are congruent about players’ and team’s progress. They are always fighting, and the team is deep, young, and fresh. Even when they were losing, they’ve not ever looking outmatched, and they’ve played good teams already. It is quite possible that they will have a lot of close games that will be lost in the next 12, and end up a bit under .500, but as long as the effort is there, any outcome is a good outcome.
matt24 says
Will we be able to keep up the optimism after this grueling set of games…
7-5 right now …. could be 9-15 at the end of this
But 12 -12 is totally doable, anything better than that and now we are really talking
Remember its the wing players who are giving us fits
Spurs = leonard………….bulls = butler, and wade…..Warriors = durant ..raptors = derozan…
Then there’s the unguardable points
Thunder = westbrook. …..rockets = harden
matt24 says
I would say the tuffest team we played thus far was @ okc, and we were in that game.
I wouldn’t count the warriors they played dead
BigCitySid10552 says
-Truly enjoy watching this team grow. And part of growth in the NBA is a tough schedule. Personally, if they are playing well, but losing to better competition, anything better than a 2 & 10 record in the next 12 I’ll view as a positive.
matt24 says
Exactly i go into each game expecting a loss, just to stay sane
fern16 says
Luke has said that thay are just installing sets and they will go more complex as the players get more comfortable.