LA Lakers Season Schedule & Outlook
It’s been a rough few years for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have missed the playoffs in six straight seasons. Not even bringing on LeBron James last offseason could get them over the hump and into the playoffs. But with the addition of Anthony Davis, among other notable free agents like Avery Bradley and Danny Green, LA fans are once again struggling to find cheap Lakers tickets. With James and Davis playing together, the Lakers season schedule for the 2019-20 campaign is full of marquee games and compelling matchups. Let’s take a look at the Lakers' upcoming season schedule.
Let’s Get It Started
The Lakers season schedule starts in a fun way, at least from the perspective of NBA fans. The team’s season opener will be at home, although they'll technically be the away team as they face their intra-city rivals, the Clippers. The Lakers have long been the big brother in Los Angeles, with the Clippers being the little brother. However, that dynamic has started to change in recent years, and the Clippers made an even bigger push to change that during the offseason by adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to their roster. Even with the Lakers acquiring Davis, the Clippers managed to steal the show and win the offseason. The result is a fascinating season opener between the two Los Angeles teams, especially with the Clippers being one of the favorites in the Western Conference and the Lakers trying to play catch up.
There’s a Chance
The first two games of the Lakers season schedule will be tough. After battling the Clippers, they'll face the Utah Jazz in their home opener. But the Lakers season schedule starts to lighten up after that, at least during the early part of the NBA season. James, Davis, and company will only play eight of their first 19 games against teams that were in the playoffs last season, including the first two games with the Clippers and Jazz. If the Lakers can avoid dropping both of those games, they stand a good chance to get off to a positive start. Obviously, the schedule will eventually get more difficult, but starting strong will give the Lakers confidence and increase their odds of being a playoff contender. Of course, it’s one thing to say that the Lakers have an easy schedule early on, it’s another to go out and win those games. Here's hoping.
Christmas with Family
If you thought opening night between the Lakers and Clippers sounded exciting, wait until the two teams get together on Christmas Day. The NBA owns the sports world on Christmas, and they’ve chosen to make the Lakers and Clippers one of the featured games on the Christmas Day schedule. While there will be a lot of hype and anticipation for opening night, the Christmas Day meeting figures to be a good litmus test for both teams. By late December, all of the new players on both Los Angeles teams will have plenty of time to gel with one another, giving each coach a chance to see how all of the pieces fit together. Assuming both teams come into the game healthy, the Christmas matchup between the Lakers and Clippers could be a good indication of what team has a better chance of going farthest in the Western Conference playoffs.
Familiar Faces
Soon after Christmas, the Lakers will play another highly-anticipated game when they host the New Orleans Pelicans. The obvious storyline surrounding this game is the offseason trade between the two teams that sent Davis to the Lakers. However, it’ll also be a homecoming of sorts for the three players the Lakers sent to the Pelicans in that trade: Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball. All three appeared to have promising futures with the Lakers until they were traded to land Davis. The trio will now get a chance to prove in front of Lakers fans why the team should have kept them. An interesting subplot is that this will be the first time Zion Williamson, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, plays a game in Los Angeles. Williamson is considered by many to be a generational talent, so playing in one of the NBA’s best-known venues against one of the league’s marquee teams will be a big deal. Even Lakers fans will be excited about the chance to see Williamson in person.
Leave Work Early
For those hoping to get their hands on cheap Lakers tickets this season, keep in mind that getting to the games on time might require leaving work early. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. When the Lakers are hosting games on national TV, the tipoff time will move up from 7:30 to 7:00 west coast time. This is designed to help fans in the eastern half of the country get a glimpse of James, Davis, and the rest of the Lakers. Fans can also expect the Lakers to play a little earlier in the day on weekends, some of which will start as early as 12:30, while a few Sunday evening games will come with a 6:00 start time.