Los Angeles Lakers: Tough Start to Their 2013-14 Schedule
By Shane Young
The Los Angeles Lakers undoubtedly exited the 2012-13 playoffs with a bitter taste, as they were swept in four games by the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. Despite the athletic signings of Nick Young and Wesley Johnson, their luck may continue to drop during the first week of the upcoming regular season. The NBA office has released a handful of games for next year’s schedule, one that has the Lakers beginning their journey with a tough back-to-back.
Oct. 29, vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Staples Center will once again be electric to kick off another wild NBA season considering the Battle of Los Angeles will resume on Oct. 29. On opening night, the Lakers will be “home” to the rival Los Angeles Clippers. Last year to open the season, the new-look Lakers were upset by the Dallas Mavericks. Most predictions from NBA fans and analysts will point toward the Clippers easily winning this first meeting, mainly due to the phenomenal offseason they have put together.
Lakers fans were rather upset with the team’s performance in last year’s season opener. (Photo Credit: Radhika Bhagwat, Flickr.com)
When you combine the addition of perimeter scoring from J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley with the surprising trade that allowed coach Doc Rivers to leave Boston for Hollywood, the Clippers have experienced only positive outcomes.
The purple and gold, however, has been faced with a mountain of obstacles to overcome before they can get back on the right track to contend in the arduous Western Conference. General manager Mitch Kupchak is still uncertain when Kobe Bryant will be able to return from rehab on his surgically repaired Achilles’ tendon. Losing Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets, coach Mike D’Antoni will have to rely on Pau Gasol and newly acquired Chris Kaman to stay healthy if they have any shot at taking down the post talent in the West.
If the Lakers want to shock most of the NBA audience and upset the Clippers on Oct. 29, Kobe Bryant must be ready to go. Jim Buss already leaked that Bryant was “ahead of schedule” on his return timetable, so I would be highly surprised if he sits this one out. Stopping Chris Paul and his new friends on the wing is a much harder task than it sounds, but the newly constructed offense without Dwight Howard may flow just well enough to give the Lakers a chance on opening night.
Oct. 30 at Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles can’t be extremely fond of these back-to-backs to begin a season, especially after what happened last year. On the second night of the season in a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers, starting point guard Steve Nash suffered a broken bone in his left leg after an on-court collision. Nash eventually missed 32 games, not helping the Lakers’ chances at exceeding 50 wins and grabbing a better seed in the playoffs.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors will face the Lakers at home on Oct. 30. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
This season, they will again travel on the road directly after their season opener. The Bay Area will be awaiting and we could see the most intense Oracle Arena audience in history. The Golden State Warriors will, without a doubt, be on a mission from opening night to mid-April. Stealing Andre Iguodala from the Denver Nuggets through the free agent market, Golden State believes they have added the correct pieces that will help them get over the hump.
While the loss of backup point guard Jarrett Jack has been widely overlooked, could it be possible that Iguodala and Jermaine O’Neal‘s presence will outweigh Jack’s contributions?
It will definitely be interesting to see how these changes pan out for the young roster coach Mark Jackson has in front of him.
But as for opening night, it’s just too difficult to say the older Lakers roster will be as energetic for this game, coming off a tough rivalry matchup the night before. I expect a high-scoring duel, mainly because we know the duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can light you up with triples in a matter of minutes. With David Lee returning at full strength, the Warriors just seem like they will be too much for this Lakers team, at least until Kobe can get back to being himself and Mike D’Antoni figures out how to manage the rotations properly.
For the Lakers, winning their home opener against the Clippers will be a much more plausible outcome than coming out of Golden State victorious. With that in mind, I expect the Lakers to split their first two games of 2013-14.