Of the first 14 games the Los Angeles Lakers played this season, a whopping nine of them were played within the friendly, stage lit confines of the Staples Center. The results have been an 8-1 home record, with their lone loss at home coming to the defending champion Toronto Raptors. But starting today, the Lakers will have their longest road trip of the season that will take them right to Thanksgiving.
Friday’s game is a rematch of a game played earlier this week between the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who played a very tough game and have been a very scrappy 5-9 with the No. 12 defense in the league.
Tuesday night’s 112-107 win showed that the Lakers could slow down the strong Thunder backcourt of Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while back-up guard Dennis Schroeder pitched in a team-high 31 points off the bench.
Tuesday’s match-up was also the rare night for the Lakers this season where they won with their offensive firepower more than their defense. A big part of that firepower was one of the best shooting nights for star forward Anthony Davis as he finished with 34 points and a season-high three 3-pointers.
While all the games on the Lakers road trip will be against teams currently below .500, it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to their longest trip of the young season.
