The Lakers were supposed to enjoy the last few weeks of the regular season. They should have been running a victory lap around the rest of the league while preparing for a deep playoff run. After having the second hardest schedule to date based on opponent winning percentage, the last month of the season was meant to be a soft spot and a chance to finally rest and heal up May and June. With only specific teams being invited to Orlando based on the NBA’s proposed continuation, a new format has been set for teams to play out the remainder of the regular season.
The plan is for teams to continue their schedule as planned, with the next 8 games. If team is scheduled to play Hawks/Bulls/Pistons, it moves onto the next game on schedule, league sources tell Yahoo Sports
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) June 3, 2020
Based on this concept, we’re able to predict what the remaining schedule will look like for the Lakers. Compare their April games vs what is now projected to be their scheduled opponents.
Original Final 8 Opponents
@ Sacramento
vs Oklahoma City
vs Golden State
vs Chicago
vs LA Clippers
vs Minnesota
vs Sacramento
@ Phoenix
Proposed Final 8 Opponents
vs Houston
vs Denver
vs Utah
vs Utah
vs Toronto
vs Washington
vs Indiana
vs Sacramento
Schedule Breakdown
Whatever way you look at it, that is a massive swing in strength of schedule. The Lakers will go from playing only two playoff teams to playing against only teams in the playoffs or currently fighting for a spot. What should have been an easy 6 or 7 wins to end the season will now be a fight to finish as the top overall seed.
The toughest games in this proposed schedule would easily be Houston and Utah. Both teams have a lot to play for, as the standings out west are still up in the air. Utah currently sits in 4th while Houston is 6th, but both teams are separated by just one game. Denver will also be tough, but the Lakers have the size to match up well against them. The game against Toronto would be interesting, as they beat LA back in November. That was a much different Lakers squad, however, and they have since found their footing.
While it’s a shame that their incredible season could not be finished the way it was intended, the Lakers should still fare just fine. With a 5.5 game lead on the second seed Clippers, the Lakers can afford to have a few rough stretches as they regroup. They may not end up winning 6 or 7 of these games, but with a magic number of 4 to clinch the 1 seed, they don’t have to. It will be much more important to work on finding the magical chemistry that they had all season and including the newest Laker, Dion Waiters, into that mix.
Predicted record over final 8 games: 5-3
Final Thoughts
8 games should be just enough to help the team find their rhythm in time for the playoffs, where things will be very different. With no true home-court advantage anymore, it will be up to the league to find a way to reward the teams that have been the best all season long. At the end of the day, the Lakers still have what it takes to win it all this season. In just a few months, we could have banner 17 hanging at Staples.
What record do you think the Lakers will end up with? Let us know in the comments below!
