LA Lakers: Friendly Second-Half Schedule Gives Chance to Catch OKC Thunder

Good news for Lakers fans: they've played the fifth-most difficult schedule in the NBA so far.

Yes, folks. It may seem like it's all doom and gloom for the Lakers, but they've actually met expectations thus far. 

According to the Bill James Pythagorean theorm, which measures expected win-loss totals, the Lakers should be 23-14. And that's exactly what they are.

Everyone wants to make it seem the Lakers have woes that they need to address. A lot of this stems from the Chris Paul deal that fell through. When that happened, Laker fans wanted to throw themselves off the nearest bridge and they made it sound like the season was a lost cause.

However, 37 games in, the Lakers are coming together and gelling well as a team. The chemistry has been found and Mike Brown's defensive system has been a hit, as the team is a top-five defense and No. 1 in rebounding. 

The Lakers are also 17-2 at home and are slowly improving on the road.

Don't kid yourself, they're a contender.

The second half of the season looks more promising for the Lakers because of the fact that their schedule gets easier. They're already done with their Grammy trip and they have a bunch of games against subpar teams that they should be able to beat in March.

Just this week they play Detroit, Washington and Minnesota on the road. These are games the Lakers absolutely shouldn't have a problem winning. 

They also have games against the Warriors, Hornets, Blazers, Rockets, Jazz, Nets, Kings, Suns and Nuggets. The Lakers get to play twice or more against some of these teams, too, which makes for a lot easier second half compared to the brutal first half they had.

In terms of home and road games, the Lakers have pretty much the same amount for each, but the Lakers will play their last road game in the eastern timezone this week when they visit Washington. The rest of the season will be against teams in the central timezone. This means there's less travel for the Lakers, which is a reason to smile if you're a bruised and battered Laker.

The Lakers are only two games behind San Antonio and six games behind Oklahoma City for the top spot in the Western Conference. With an easier schedule, it's conceivable to see them heat up and catch both teams.

Home-court advantage will be vital for the Lakers if they can get it, considering how well they've performed at Staples Center. 

This team is a solid point guard away from doing some damage in the playoffs, and if they can get home court by going hot in the second half because of an easy schedule, then beware of the Lakers if you're the rest of the league.

Follow Andre Khatchaturian on Twitter.