Month-by-Month Predictions for L.A. Lakers 2012-13 Season

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most polarizing teams in all of sports, and while there’s no true science to predicting the future, the moves made in the 2012 NBA offseason have given fans the expectation that that a special season is now underway.

The Lakers are in championship-or-bust mode, and the 2012-13 season should prove to be a bounce-back year following two early playoff exits in a row.

This team will be celebrated—and scrutinized—more than just about any other squad in the league, but when it’s all said and done, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be one of the best teams in the NBA when the year comes to a close.

October

Record: 2-0

Cumulative Record: 2-0

The new-look Los Angeles Lakers are set to open the season on Oct. 30 against the rival Dallas Mavericks, and with the game being broadcast for all to see on national television, the team from L.A. is going to look to start things off on the right foot.

Dallas is another team that is looking to get off to a fast start with their new roster, but on the road against the Lakers, the battle of two new squads should go to the home team.

As exciting as the first game of the season is going to be for the team and its fans, a trip to the Pacific Northwest will make for a decent road challenge right off the bat.

In the second game of the Lakers’ first back-to-back, the team takes on the Portland Trail Blazers in a road venue that has not been kind to them in the past (according to The Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan).

Fans in Portland will be optimistic—and loud beyond belief—for their season opener on Halloween night, but the youth and inexperience of the Trail Blazers will make it difficult for them to win, even if the Lakers struggle with chemistry early.

November

Record: 10-4

Cumulative Record: 12-4

If you like to use the 2010-11 Miami Heat as an example as to why the Los Angeles Lakers will struggle early, that’s fine; you have a precedent. However, there’s another case study that you simply can’t ignore.

The Boston Celtics.

In the 2007-08 season, the team from Beantown won the first eight games of their new Big Three era, and they kept momentum going with an impressive 29-3 start. Even the struggling Heat of 2010 went on to win 58 games together.

The Lakers have an extremely generous month of November, and it will give them time to blend together as a group.

With the exception of a few key games, the team is set to take on eight squads in the first three weeks of the month that are fringe playoff teams at best.

This stretch of lackluster competition is going to be a good way to ease into a new era of Lakers basketball, and if the team struggles to jell right away, they have 10 home games and a whole slew of lesser-quality opponents to work out the kinks.

December

Record: 9-5

Cumulative Record: 21-9

The Los Angeles Lakers open up the season with just five games away from home in their first 17 contests, but the downside to that, of course, is that the road games have to start piling up eventually.

In the first half of December, the Lakers have only one contest that separates a three-game and four-game road trip. A three-game stretch in the West followed by a four-game stint out East will test this team, as they’ll still be working out the on-the-court kinks that plague a new roster.

The team opens its first road trip with two rebuilding organizations, but closes out with their first matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. A battle against the defending Western Conference champions will speak volumes to where the Lakers are as a unit at this point in the season.

The team also plays Andrew Bynum and the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time since their blockbuster trade, as well as the ever-enthralling New York Knicks on Christmas night.

January

Record: 11-5

Cumulative Record: 32-14

The month of January features the toughest stretch of the Lakers’ young season, but it begins at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on the first day of the New Year.

Following the team’s second matchup against Andrew Bynum, they move on to play four Western Conference foes vying for home court, as well as a Houston Rockets team that could be exceeding expectations if their youth and potential are translating to production on the court.

Following the first six games, a two-game stretch against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks will allow them to breath before hosting the Miami Heat at home.

The game against the Heat will have little to do with the Lakers’ Western Conference aspirations, but it will be one of the most hyped games on the season, as the national media will take full advantage of their head-to-head battle in L.A.

The second half of the month lightens up, but a second contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder will certainly keep things interesting.

February

Record: 8-5

Cumulative Record: 40-19

The Los Angeles Lakers will endure their longest road trip of the season in February, as all seven games played between Jan. 30 and Feb. 10 will be away from Staples Center.

Heading into the All-Star break, this team is going to need to relax, re-group and rehabilitate any nagging injuries.

It’s no secret that the Lakers are getting up there in the age department, and while a number of the players will be participating in the weekend’s events, easy-going competition and extra downtime will do wonders for this recuperating roster.

Coming out of the break, the team has a tough finish to the month with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets waiting for them, and even the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves will be tough if their young rosters have put it together half way through the year.

March

Record: 13-2

Cumulative Record 53-21

If the Los Angeles Lakers are only going to roll through one month of the season with ease, that month is going to be March.

The team heads to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder in their second game of the month, but the only other contender on their schedule—if you consider them to be a contender—will be the Indiana Pacers on the 15th.

March is going to be a month of re-establishing chemistry after All-Star Weekend and proving that they are as good as advertised. The team does play 10 road games, but outside of the Thunder and the Pacers, the competition is questionable at this point in the year.

Following the break, this team is going to be ready to roll the competition, and with an easy schedule, they should begin to show why they’re worthy of a top seed out West.

April

Record: 5-3

Cumulative Record: 58-24

The final month of the season is a telling one for most NBA teams, but the Los Angeles Lakers may be in coast mode by the time April finally comes around.

Following a fantastic month of March, there’s a chance we could see the Lakers take a page out of Greg Popovich’s book and rest their starters as the year begins to wind down.

With nothing but Western Conference opponents at this point in the year, it’s not going to be an easy ride to the end; but with the playoffs in sight, how they finish the regular season really won’t matter if they’ve already nailed a spot in the top 3.

A 60-win season isn’t out of the question for this Lakers squad, but with a championship as the goal, and not a perfect season, anything with home-court advantage in the playoffs will suffice.

Fifty-eight wins will be one of the best marks in a tough Western Conference, and when the clock strikes zero on April 17th—the Lakers’ final regular season game—it will be time for this team to really get down to business.