The NBA schedule for the 2019-20 season is finally out and the Los Angeles Lakers have seen several factors workout in their favor for the coming season, which fans hope will help prevent them from repeating last year’s disappointing first year with LeBron James.
While the full schedule can be seen here, we are going to break down how this year’s schedule should benefit the Lakers as well as some of the rough spots they’ll face throughout the 82 games.
1. Lakers must make hay early
Although Lakers apologists for last year’s season point to them being 4th in the West after their Christmas Day win over Golden State, they made it to that point in spite of a brutal first few weeks of the season. They lost their first three games last year and started 2-5 after their first seven games. And if they succumb to the same fate this season, they won’t be able to blame it on their opponents.
After playing two tough games in L.A. against the Clippers and the Utah Jazz, the Lakers face a host of cupcakes in their next few games. At home vs. Charlotte and Memphis will be followed by road games at Dallas, at San Antonio and at Chicago, with four of those five teams failing to make the playoffs last year. Then they will face a new-look Miami team, the Raptors after losing Kawhi Leonard and then the lowly Phoenix Suns before facing off against the Warriors on Nov. 13.
If they struggle in the early going while also having Anthony Davis, the noise is going to be deafening and Frank Vogel’s seat will get pretty hot, pretty fast.
2. Pacific shift: Lakers see travel miles go way down
The Los Angeles Lakers, like several other teams on the Pacific Coast, are benefitting greatly from the choices of the NBA schedulers. After being 3rd last season in total miles travelled, the Lakers dropped all the way to 23rd in miles travelled.
Considering what we know about how travel and sleep affects athletes, this is a major improvement for the Lakers after last year. After seeing LeBron go down at Christmas, Lakers fans have to be very pleased with this break in the schedule as they travel fewer miles than every team in the Western Conference.
But as mentioned, the Lakers aren’t alone in seeing their mileage go down. Portland, Golden State and the Clippers all have considerably lower mileage counts than expected while the Utah Jazz lead the NBA.
In what is expected to be a brutal conference, every little thing matters and this could prove to be big for the Lakers come playoff time.
3. 6 back-to-backs
As part of the league’s effort to help create a schedule more agreeable with the bodies of their players, the NBA has sought to cut down on back-to-backs and has eliminated 4 games in 5 nights stretches from the schedule for all teams.
In this regard, the Lakers have benefitted greatly once again. They only have six back-to-backs this season and they are spread out throughout the season.
They also three road trips of five games or more, including a six-game road trip in late March.
4. Earlier start times for home games
Due to some concerns from the NBA over a ratings dip that followed LeBron James going West, the Lakers are seeing their share of late 7:30 local time tip-offs go down considerably.
The NBA’s national television partners have forced Lakers home games on national TV to move up 30 minutes from 7:30 to 7 p..m. The Lakers will still have a few 7:30 tip-offs at home but that number has gone down from 19 to just 10.
The Lakers will also have a couple of matinees in the spring (12:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 vs. Boston, 12:30 p.m. on March 8 at Clippers), as well as a handful of Sunday games that will start at 6 p.m. or 6:30 local time.
5. Lakers lead all teams in National TV games, again
The Lakers are, once again, the toast of the NBA’s national television partners. In addition to being one of the teams frequently featured in marquee dates, the Lakers are expected be on national television a league-high 38 times this season.
