Lakers 2015-16 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

The Los Angeles Lakers are still very much a franchise in transition, but there is legitimate optimism in the air after drafting D'Angelo Russell with the second overall pick and getting last year's first-round pick, Julius Randle, back healthy. 

There's also the maybe-but-not-definite last season for Kobe Bryant, who is entering the final year of his contract. Because of youth and big roster holes, the 2015-16 Lakers aren't likely to make a playoff push in the loaded Western Conference. 

Yet it's hard to deny the Lakers will be more interesting this season than they were during last year's disastrous 21-61 effort. 

Russell, who didn't look strong during the NBA Summer League by shooting 37.7 percent with 26 turnovers in five games, will be the key player to watch for Los Angeles this season. 

Lakers head coach Byron Scott told Fox Sports after summer league that Russell's struggles could end up being a good thing for his development:

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Sometimes when you come out here and you're the No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 pick, you expect to come out here and tear the league up. When guys kind of eat your lunch every now in then, it brings you back down to earth and lets you know that you still have a long way to go.  In the long run, this might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

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Yet even when Russell was going through those summer struggles, there were still moments that showed his ability to create plays for teammates. Take a look at this highlight from a game against the Dallas Mavericks, per NBA on Twitter:

Because the Lakers are built on young players, with two expensive exceptions in Bryant and Roy Hibbert, the oddsmakers have listed them at 100-1 to win an NBA title, per Odds Shark. That puts them ahead of teams like the New York Knicks (150-1) and Orlando Magic (250-1).  

In addition to developing young players, the Lakers may also be on the verge of entering a transition period in the front office. 

Lakers vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss told Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times in April 2014 he would resign in the next few years if the team wasn't moving in a positive direction:

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I don't know if you can fire yourself if you own the team … but what I would say is I'd walk away and you guys figure out who's going to run basketball operations because I obviously couldn't do the job. There's no question in my mind we will accomplish success. I'm not worried about putting myself on the line.

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Buss bought himself time by saying it would take a few years, but following back-to-back seasons with fewer than 30 wins and another losing season expected in 2015-16, the walls may start to close in around the 55-year-old. 

Bryant and Hibbert are the only players on the roster with significant postseason experience, though neither is making a major impact at this point in his career. Bryant in particular will be fascinating to watch because his ego won't let anyone else take center stage for this franchise. 

Transition isn't something that sells in sports, but sometimes it's necessary. The Lakers are moving forward, even if the results still figure to be sketchy along the way. Their full schedule can be viewed here.

Analyzing Marquee Matchups

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

When: Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET; Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m. ET; Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET

While not an obvious matchup to highlight or one of the Lakers' traditional rivalries, it's hard not to be intrigued by what will happen when they lock horns with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015-16. 

These two teams owned the first two picks in this year's draft. Minnesota went with Karl-Anthony Towns, which was hardly a surprise. Russell kept rising on draft boards until the Lakers were finally able to end the suspense by taking him second overall.

There have already been some lofty comparisons for both players coming into the NBA. ESPN.com's D.J. Foster did note that Russell looks like a 2014-15 NBA MVP candidate:

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...Russell is quite a bit like (James) Harden. Both are 6-foot-5 lefties who are “lead guards” more than anything else, but they’re also terrors for pick-and-roll defenders. Russell’s vision lends perfectly for that style, too, because he’s capable of exploiting scrambling defenses from the middle of the floor. Some of his turnovers in Vegas have been fantastic ideas, which is hard for some to reconcile, but risk-taking rookies often develop into the league’s very best players.

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In the same piece, Foster wrote that Towns reminds him of Atlanta Hawks star Al Horford because of his ability to do everything well without any obvious weakness in a single area. 

The other reason this game is fascinating lies in L.A.'s two key veterans. Bryant, who has played just 41 games the last two seasons because of injuries, has earned the "Black Mamba" nickname because of his killer instinct. 

There's also a dark edge to Bryant that has always been prevalent. He's acknowledged his inability to make friends is because he doesn't want to put the time and effort into it, which gets in the way of making him a better basketball player, per ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes. 

When Bryant was one of the league's best players, that was part of his mysterious aura. Now, it's a hindrance as the Lakers try to develop young stars. 

On the other side, Kevin Garnett returned to Minnesota via trade last season and signed a two-year extension this summer to help players such as Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine develop and reach their full potential. 

Both teams are working with exciting young cores and have future Hall of Famers in the twilight of their career. Their matchups this season will show which plan is working better while also showcasing exciting basketball. 

Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs

When: Friday, Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m. ET; Friday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. ET; Friday, Feb. 6, at 5:30 p.m. ET; Friday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET

There was a time when the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs would have been the marquee matchup on Christmas Day. These two franchises have each won five NBA championships since 1999. 

Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News wrote last March that based on winning percentage the Spurs moved past the Lakers for the best in NBA history:

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Their winning record combined with one of the worst seasons in Los Angeles Lakers annals slipped them past their long-time rivals by mere percentage points, 61.4 (1920-1207) to 61.1 (3213-2050).

Among those still in action, Boston (58.8), Phoenix (55.3) and the franchise formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics, AKA the Oklahoma City Thunder (53.6), round out the top five.

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The Spurs are regarded as one of the best franchises in all of professional sports. They have won at least 50 games in 16 consecutive seasons. That streak could have been up to 18 years, but a lockout in 1998-99 shortened the regular season to 50 games. 

The Lakers have become one of the most talked-about bad teams in sports. Playing in Los Angeles does allow them to remain in the conversation, though a situation indirectly involving the Spurs highlighted where things are at right now. 

LaMarcus Aldridge was one of the big free-agent prizes on Los Angeles' radar this summer. There was some dispute about how close he actually came to signing with the Lakers. 

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported Aldridge was close to agreeing to terms with L.A.:

However, Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported Aldridge didn't like the Lakers' presentation. The 30-year-old eventually signed with the Spurs, which was hardly a surprise given the franchise's history of on-court success—plus he's from Texas. 

Aldridge's decision is a reflection of just how wide the gulf between the Spurs and Lakers is at the moment. Los Angeles wants to be back on top of the mountain, so what better way to evaluate the franchise than against one regarded as the NBA's best?

Record Prediction

This era of the NBA is defined by the Big Three. It's impossible to find a true championship contender that doesn't have one. The Spurs have Aldridge, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard. Golden State has Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Cleveland Cavaliers have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. 

No one is going to say the Lakers have their championship trio in 2015-16. Bryant is in the final stage of his legendary career, and Hibbert is the epitome of inconsistency. 

However, the team hopes to be in the early stages of developing the next Big Three. Randle is essentially a rookie, as he played in 14 minutes of the regular-season opener last year before breaking his leg. 

Russell didn't look strong in the summer league, but he's actually a rookie and is going through a development curve. 

The problem for Los Angeles through all of this development is playing in the Western Conference. There are going to be teams that win 48 games left out of the playoffs because the conference is so deep, leaving few wins for those at the bottom. 

Even with a more exciting roster to watch, the Lakers will struggle to get past last season's win total. That doesn't mean they had a worse year, but it is just an unfortunate reality of playing in the more difficult conference. 

Regular-season record prediction: 24-58