Los Angeles Lakers: Month-by-Month Record Predictions for 2017-18 Season
The Los Angeles Lakers enter the 2017-18 NBA season with higher hopes than they've had in five years.
Unfortunately, that's not as exciting as it sounds. The Lakers have been trapped in their worst four-year rut in franchise history. They could easily surpass their previous four win totals without even sniffing the playoffs.
In fact, that's the most likely outcome of this campaign. Their youngsters aren't quite ready to rise yet, but the prospect collection appears as intriguing as ever. And despite the front office hoarding cap space for next summer, L.A. still attracted a couple of established vets who instantly upgraded the roster.
Things are trending in the right direction, but this is the next step in a long process. Yes, the Lakers will be better than they've been; no, they won't be near the postseason picture. We'll explain how that will happen through a month-by-month examination of the schedule complete with record predictions.
October
1 of 7
Breakdown: 7 Games (5 Home, 2 Away)
Notable: Open season with first of their 13 back-to-backs
Remember how the Lakers surprised early last season—six wins in their first 10 games, a 10-10 record at the 20-game mark? Well, L.A. has a chance to make a similarly fast start.
"The schedule-makers have tossed up an assist to the Lakers with the way things start," Lakers.com's Mike Trudell wrote. "In fact, through Nov. 27, six of the top seven favorites in Las Vegas to win the NBA title don't appear. ... Five of the seven October games are at Staples Center, while the two road trips...are close (Phoenix and Utah)."
The Lakers laid an egg to start the season, suffering a 108-92 drubbing at the hands of the Clippers. Basically, everything that could go wrong did, lowlighted by Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram providing just 15 points on 4-of-21 shooting combined.
But there's no matchup the rest of the month that feels like an automatic loss. The Phoenix Suns might be the worst team in the NBA. The New Orleans Pelicans might have the worst perimeter group in the NBA. Consistency is not a strength of the Utah Jazz's offense or the Detroit Pistons' anything. Even the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors are prone to slip-ups.
Good teams would steamroll through this month. The rebuilding Lakers will pick up a couple of victories, but they'll be (slightly) in the red by month's end.
Projected Record: 3-4
November
2 of 7
Breakdown: 14 Games (7 Home, 7 Away)
Notable: Three back-to-backs are most in any month
After a quick trip to Portland to open November, the Lakers return for perhaps their most compelling reunion of the campaign.
The Brooklyn Nets arrive in L.A. for a Nov. 3 tilt, bringing with them former purple-and-gold franchise face D'Angelo Russell. The scoring guard, selected second overall in 2015, was sent packing over the summer and verbally shoved out the door by Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson.
"D'Angelo is an excellent player," Johnson said, per ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes. "He has the talent to be an All-Star. We want to thank him for what he did for us. But what I needed was a leader. I needed somebody also that can make the other players better and also [somebody] that players want to play with."
Russell will be out for revenge, and he won't be the only one. Timofey Mozgov was unceremoniously dumped by the Lakers less than 12 months after inking a four-year, $64 million deal. Brooklyn, meanwhile, parted with Brook Lopez, the Nets' all-time scoring leader.
Neither the Lakers nor the Nets are any good, but with the game in L.A., the home squad should handle business. The Lakers should also collect wins during visits by the Suns and Chicago Bulls. Beyond that, it feels like two victories will shake out from a home game with the Memphis Grizzlies and road tilts with the Suns, Clippers and Sacramento Kings.
Projected Record: 5-9
December
3 of 7
Breakdown: 14 Games (6 Home, 8 Away)
Notable: Six games against the top three teams in our power rankings
There are two bits of advice for Lakers fans to survive another daunting December.
The first is simple—find a hobby outside of basketball. Seriously, it's going to be gruesome. There are 14 games on the docket, and none can be penciled in as a win. Oh, and more than 40 percent of the month will be spent battling the Golden State Warriors (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers (once) and Houston Rockets (three times).
The Lakers only face one lottery lock (the New York Knicks), and that's on the road. When the Grizzlies, Clippers and Charlotte Hornets start looking like your best options, you know it's going to be a lean month. (By the way, this should feel familiar—December was a 2-14 disaster last season.)
So, what's the other directive for December? Hope like heck LeBron James likes what he sees when the Lakers visit Northeast Ohio on Dec. 14. If that one game garners any favor with the King, the entire month—maybe the entire season—becomes a success, if you think he's as close to L.A. as some believe.
As far as wins and losses go, expect a few of the former and a lot of the latter. Between trips to Charlotte and New York and hosting the Grizzlies, Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers, there should be three victories out of that bunch.
Projected Record: 3-11
January
4 of 7
Breakdown: 15 Games (8 Home, 7 Away)
Notable: Features longest home stand (five games in nine days) and zero back-to-backs
If the Lakers are going to make any sort of playoff push, January could be their launching pad.
Only three of the 15 opponents made the second round of last season's playoffs. One is the Boston Celtics, who lost Gordon Hayward on opening night. Another is Toronto, which manages to be consistently good without ever really scaring anyone. The last is the San Antonio Spurs, who are always rock-solid but had an underwhelming summer.
The home schedule includes the only team L.A. swept last season (Atlanta Hawks), plus fellow rebuilders in the Kings, Knicks and Indiana Pacers. The road offers winnable games with the Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic. And if a favored team takes it easy on defense, the Lakers have the firepower to steal an upset.
"There are reasons to believe the Lakers could score at a level above the league's average this season, especially if Brandon Ingram shapes up and the veteran duo of Brook Lopez and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope benefit from Ball's playmaking," Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes wrote.
Look for the Lakers to capitalize on their lengthy stay at Staples Center and take some extra energy when they leave. That should be enough to yield a season-high win total for the month.
Projected Record: 8-7
February
5 of 7
Breakdown: 10 Games (3 Home, 7 Away)
Notable: Highest percentage of road games, two back-to-backs sandwiched around All-Star break
Assuming the Lakers hit their stride in January, they'll have an opportunity to keep things rolling into February. Of the eight teams they face in the month, only two had winning records last season—the Hawks (who have since self-destructed) and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Granted, Minnesota has arguably changed for the better as much as Atlanta has worsened. But the Timberwolves are in the shadows of their own expectations for now.
"They play like a team that has heard what it needs to do but hasn't yet absorbed it," Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated wrote. "The wrong instincts emerge at the wrong time, and even moves made with the best of intentions play out in overly deliberate fashion. Like so many young teams before them, the Wolves are in their own heads."
That probably corrects itself long before the Lakers' trip to Minneapolis on Feb. 15. But even if it does, L.A. should be encouraged by how February shakes out.
Visits from the Suns and Mavericks should be automatics. Road trips to Brooklyn, Sacramento and Atlanta are near-locks. Steal a road triumph in Dallas, New Orleans or Minnesota, and you're looking at a second straight winning month.
Projected Record: 6-4
March
6 of 7
Breakdown: 15 Games (7 Home, 8 Away)
Notable: Opponents include the last seven NBA champions
How long has it been since the Lakers won a game in Oakland? Steve Nash was that contest's last scorer. And Darius Morris was its first.
The Lakers survived a 118-115 overtime marathon Dec. 22, 2012. Their nine subsequent visits to Oracle Arena have resulted in nine losses by an average of 21.3 points.
"It sucks," Lakers head coach (and former Warriors assistant) Luke Walton said, per Holmes. "... When they're just making three after three after three and you're sitting there on the other bench and the crowd is going nuts, you definitely have that realization, like, damn. This is what it feels like."
In other words, don't expect it to feel good when the Lakers go to Golden State on March 14. Matter fact, don't expect much to go right during this month. Road stops in Miami, San Antonio, Denver and Memphis will be no fun. Ditto visits from the Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Lakers could hang around during home games with the Blazers and Heat, and they might do more than that when playing the Pacers and Pistons on the road. But other than Staples Center encounters with the Magic and Mavericks, this is a stiff slate.
Projected Record: 5-10
April
7 of 7
Breakdown: 7 Games (5 Home, 2 Away)
Notable: Five games against top-five seeds in the West last season, two back-to-backs
The Lakers will leave Los Angeles once in April. They have one road game in Salt Lake City and their other is at the Staples Center against the Clippers. That means only one plane ride after the return flight from Detroit on March 26.
And yet, the final month looks riddled with turbulence.
L.A. has to twice contend with Utah and its elite defense. San Antonio, Minnesota and Houston are all coming to town. The Clippers will get up for the last game of the season to have the city's bragging rights. Even the Kings could be tricky given their similar blend of high-ceiling prospects and proven vets.
Everything points to this being a brutal month. The Lakers' biggest hope for April is that postseason seeds are decided early. Then, some of the upper-echelon clubs can rest their players and give L.A. a puncher's chance.
Even with that possibility in mind, things look bleak. The Sacramento tilt should be a win. All the rest are on-paper losses, although we'll guess the Lakers find their way to a surprise win one of those nights.
Projected Record: 2-5
Projected Overall Record: 32-50
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference or NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
