After a difficult stretch of games against Phoenix, Utah and Boston to close out December, the schedule loosens up considerably to open the New Year. In all, the Lakers will play eight of 14 games in January against teams currently sporting records below .500.
Game-By-Game:
The Lakers open up the month at STAPLES Center against the same Sixers (1/4) squad whom L.A. beat in Philadelphia only a few weeks ago. The game will be the first since the Lakers battle against the Celtics five days earlier so the team should be plenty rested to take on Andre Iguodala and Co. The Lakers conclude their five game home stand with a match-up against Jermaine O’Neal and the upstart Indiana Pacers on Jan. 6. L.A. beat Indiana handily on the road in November, with Kobe scoring 32 points and Andrew Bynum chipping in 17 to go along with 10 rebounds.
After a travel day on the 7th, the Lakers head out to Memphis to feast on the lowly Grizzlies (1/8). The Lakers split their four games against Memphis last year, losing once at FedEx Center last year and again in L.A. The team then flies out to the Big Easy for a date with the New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets may no longer have the boisterous backing of the Oklahoma City crowd behind them, but they do have one of the conference’s best records and arguably its best point guard this season in Chris Paul.
The Lakers return home from their mini road trip to face the Bucks on Friday, Jan. 11 before a quick rematch against the Grizzlies that Sunday (1/13). The Bucks always seem to provide a difficult matchup for the Lakers, as seen in their momentum stymieing win against L.A. in Milwaukee at the beginning of the season.
The weak stretch in the schedule continues as the Lakers take a one game detour from their STAPLES Center home stand to pair off against Kevin Durant and the Sonics (1/14). L.A. defeated Seattle at the end of November, even though rookie Durant scored 25 points. Nonetheless, Key Arena has historically been a tough place to play for the Lakers.
The game against Seattle also marks the end of a relatively easy stretch for the Lakers as they embark on a four game stint against four of the West’s top teams, beginning with a Jan. 17 game against division rival Phoenix. The Lakers just beat the Suns in impressive fashion on Christmas Day in what was described by some as Bynum’s national coming out party. Next up for L.A. is a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game against the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers have already beaten the Nuggets twice this season, with the last game in the Mile High City featuring a classic Kobe performance down the stretch to hand the Lakers the victory.
After a day off, the Lakers fly to San Antonio for part one of the Texas two-step (1/23). In the Lakers’ Dec. 13 win against the Defending Champion Spurs, San Antonio was noticeably missing Tim Duncan and Tony Parker from its lineup so the third game in the season series should be a much better measuring stick for L.A. The Lakers then move north to face a Dallas Mavericks team that has fought its way back from a subpar November to claim one of the league’s best records (1/25).
After going against the Spurs and Mavs, the schedule turns in the Lakers’ favor once more with games against Cleveland (1/27) and New York (1/29) at home. LeBron James’ Cavaliers won a close game in Cleveland on the Lakers last road trip, with many media outlets heralding James’ stellar defensive job on Bryant down the stretch. Kobe is one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen so it’s all but guaranteed that he’ll be licking his chops at the rematch. The Lakers’ next opponent – the Knicks – were no match for the Lakers for most of their last meeting at Madison Square Garden to close out the end of December road trip, even though they did manage to almost come back from a 20 plus point Lakers lead.
Finally, the Lakers head to the Motor City to take on a Pistons team that currently owns the Eastern Conference’s second best record (1/31). L.A. beat Detroit in one of their biggest wins of the season to date, but the Pistons were without Chauncey Billups who was forced to the sidelines because of injury. L.A. has not beaten the Pistons at The Palace since the 2001-2002 season.
Outlook:
While the Lakers’ schedule appears relatively soft for most of January, the games against teams over .500 are all big time matchups against some of the league’s most elite teams. L.A. needs to perform well in the next month as February offers one of the most brutal road trips in recent memory with the Lakers only playing only three home games (four if you count the road game against the Clippers). Still, with the team’s exceptional play of late and improved health, there’s no reason to think L.A. can’t finish out the first month of the New Year with double digits in victories.
