L.A. Lakers 2009-10 Schedule Breakdown

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With the 2009-10 NBA regular season schedule released league-wide on Tuesday, we spent some time analyzing how the chips scatter in L.A.’s direction, starting with the season opener at STAPLES Center:

3, 2, 1 … Begin Title Defense

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Duke and UNC are separated by some 10 miles in North Carolina, and each year, the powerhouse college programs engage in a (blood) battle for regional supremacy. As for the turf war out West? Yeah, it might not have the same gusto … but that doesn’t mean if can’t be fun to kick things off with a battle for Los Angeles. Yup, it’s Lakers-Clippers. For Kobe’s crew, how about Ron Artest’s first game in purple and gold, or Phil Jackson’s first chance to reveal what could be a tweaked rotation from a roster brimming over the top with talent? Nice. Meanwhile, the red-and-blue clad Clips have discovered newfound hope and a roster talented enough to compete for a playoff spot even in the rugged West. After all, winning the lottery delivered college star Blake Griffin, who compliments legit talent like Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Al Thornton. Clipper Daryl’s bunch also added some bench depth with a trade for Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair, and hopes to be well past last season’s injury-depleted 19-win season. If L.A.’s other squad is looking for a season-opening barometer, where better to start than the champs?

Extra Credit: Andrew Bynum dropped 42 points and 15 boards on the Clips last time they met at STAPLES to kick off his torrid week of 27, 13 and three basketball in late January.

L.A.’s Pretty Nice in November

Printable Schedule (.pdf)

Good thing, too, because Pau and Luke will be spending a lot of time in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach (for example). With two games at STAPLES in October (Clippers, Mavericks) and 10 games at home in November, the Lakers certainly have a chance to keep some of their summer-acquired tans into the early winter. No, really: counting five straight home games that kick off December, 17 of L.A.’s first 21 games will take place in Los Angeles. In fact, the schedule (made in part because of outside commitments to STAPLES Center late in the year) mirrors that of 2008-09, when the Lakers opened with 11-of-15 at STAPLES, losing just once (to Detroit) at home blasting out of the gates with a 14-1 record. Furthermore, on paper at least, L.A.’s opening stanza is more kitten than tiger: only seven of the 16 opponents had a + .500 record last season (DAL, ATL, HOU [2], NOH, PHX, DEN). In related news, the Lakers lost just five times all season at home.

Extra Credit: The Lakers have three back-to-backs in November, the first on the road (OKC, HOU) and the next two of the home-road variety (PHX/DEN & GSW/NJN).

Getting A Bit Chilly

The schedule starts to even out a bit in December with eight home games and seven roadies, including tilts at Chicago and New Jersey that respectively render the travel group two off days in Chi-Town and New York City (where the team stays when playing the Nets). Sure, the wind flying off Lake Michigan in mid-December plus a brisk Central Park isn’t ideal, but there’s no complaining about extra time in two of the league’s favorite destinations. As for the basketball … that picks up a bit as well. The Lakers open the month with four home games against solid competition (the Hornets, Heat, Suns and Jazz), then finish with 7-of-11 on the road. To be fair, last season’s Lakers were just as likely to lose to Sacramento or Charlotte as they were to San Antonio or Boston, so be wary when creating automatic W’s when you see Oklahoma City and Golden State on the late December schedule. Teams were certainly gunning for the Lakers in 2008-09, and winning a championship doesn’t exactly change that. L.A. will get everyone’s best effort each and every night.

Extra Credit: The highlight of the month deserves its own category:

Kobe & Shaq Meet on Christmas … Again

There are a few commonalities on December 25, such as Christmas trees, stockings on mantels, mistletoe and … Lakers games on national TV. In fact, since 1999, the Lakers have appeared in a Christmas Day game each and every year, starting with a tilt vs. San Antonio. Next came Portland (2000), Philadelphia (’01), Sacramento (’02), Houston (’03) and Shaquille O’Neal’s Miami Heat in ‘04 after his trade to South Beach. L.A., who’d been home for all five of those games, finally left for road games at Miami in ’05 and ’06, before returning home to face Phoenix in ‘07. Last season, the Boston Celtics came to downtown Los Angeles on X-Mas, which leads us to this season and a matchup that was set in stone the minute Shaq was traded to Cleveland. Of course, the Lakers swept the Cavs rather handily in 2008-09, and then pushed past the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals while Cleveland fell to the Orlando Magic in the East. Determined not to fall short of the Finals again, Cleveland added Shaq plus wings Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker, all three of whom will be needed to counter L.A.’s length both inside and out. Should be a fun one.

Extra Credit: The Lakers have three back-to-backs in November and four on the table in December.

OK, Now We’re Cold

SCHEDULE BY THE NUMBERS BY MONTH Nov - 16 (12h/4a) Dec - 15 (8h/7a) Jan - 17 (6h/11a) Feb - 12 (7h/5a) Mar - 15 (4h/11a) Apr - 7 (4h/3a) BY DAY Sun - 16 (12h/4a) Mon - 6 (2h/4a) Tues - 17 (11h/6a) Wed - 12 (2h/10a) Thur - 6 (3h/3a) Fri - 19 (11h/8a) Sat - 6 (0h/6a) BACK-TO-BACKS (20) Nov 3/4 - @Okc/@Hou Nov 12/13 - PHX/@Den Nov 28/29 - @Gsw/NJN Dec 11/12 - MIN/@Uta Dec 15/16 - @Chi/@Mil Dec 19/20 - @Njn/@Det Dec 25/26 - CLE/@Sac Dec 28/29 - @Phx/GSW Jan 5/6 - HOU/@Lac Jan 12/13 - @Sas/@Dal Jan 21/22 - @Cle/@Nyk Jan 26/27 - @Was/@Ind Jan 31/1 - @Bos/@Mem Feb 5/6 - DEN/@Por Feb 23/24 - @Mem/@Dal Mar 4/5 - @Mia/@Cha Mar 15/16 - @Gsw/@Sac Mar 26/27 - @Okc/@Hou Apr 8/9 - @Den/@Min Apr 13/14 - SAC/@Lac

When reflecting upon L.A.’s championship season, Lamar Odom pointed to the team’s six-game Eastern Conference road trip in late January and early February as a crucial point that really made him and his teammates believers. Oddly, snow brought the best out of the tropically-inclined Lakers. Well, L.A. will have its chance yet again, this time undertaking an 8-game, 13-day trek (also known as the “Grammy Trip”) through the North and East that begins in Cleveland and hits Boston towards its conclusion. While broadcasters Joel Meyers, Spero Dedes and John Ireland figure out how to pack enough suit and tie combinations (no one messes with Stu Lantz or Mychal Thompson regardless, and I don’t “figure out” as much as “struggle”), the players are starting to think about the playoffs, checking their flavor against the proverbial beasts of the East. Before L.A. even leaves LAX for that trip, however, they have tough road tests at Portland, San Antonio and Dallas, not to mention a home tilt against Finals victim Orlando.

Extra Credit: L.A. plays nine playoff teams in January, including the title-contending Magic, Celtics, Cavs, Spurs and Mavs, and the Lakers play only three games in L.A. after January 5.

All-Star Trip For ___?

How many All-Stars might the Lakers have for the February 12-14 break in Dallas? Last season it was Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol that represented L.A., and nobody’s betting against their respective returns. Meanwhile, with the departure of Shaquille O’Neal and due to Yao Ming’s injury, the center position could be open for bidding; should Andrew Bynum be able to re-capture his January top form, he could go. And with the elite basketball talent in Ron Artest and Lamar Odom, whichever Queens product gets better numbers could find himself in consideration. Phil Jackson, however, won’t go even if the Lakers again clinch the West’s best record at the halfway point, since league rules prohibit coaches from going in consecutive seasons. The break itself is timely in terms of the schedule, since L.A. has to run a Denver-Portland home-road back-to-back, a homer vs. San Antonio and a trip to Salt Lake City leading into it. Afterwards, the final six games of February feature a contest Lakers fans always covet, with the Celtics making their lone STAPLES appearance on the 18th , while Philly and Denver close the month before L.A.’s final major stretch of road games.

Extra Credit: The Charlotte Bobcats, who beat L.A. in double OT at STAPLES last March, return for their only appearance of the season. Will Emeka Okafor’s departure help L.A. finally secure a win over one of the two teams (Orlando being the other) that the Lakers didn’t beat during the 2008-09 regular season?

Seriously, All These Hotels Look the Same

Four home games in March? That’s it? Yup. That’s the part of the season when you get in the hotel elevator and forget which floor your room’s on (literally, happened twice last season). The Lakers finally have to pay back their 12-4 ratio from November with a 4-11 bit that concludes with a rough five-game southern trek through San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta. The four home opponents are far from the strongest on paper (Indiana, Toronto, Minnesota and Washington), but L.A. – who was a league best 29-12 on the road last season – returns to six arenas that rendered losses last season, including an opening three-game mission through Miami, Charlotte and Orlando (all losses). Nonetheless, after this stretch, L.A. will have played every team in the NBA at least once, and will have a pretty good idea about its playoff position.

Extra Credit: Each year, teams play four of their 14 Conference opponents just three times total, instead of the regular four. The Lakers go to New Orleans (3/29) and Minnesota (4/9) just once, while welcoming Portland (4/11) and Memphis (11/6) to L.A. a time apiece.

Seven More – Will They Matter?

Last season, L.A. was a good 10 games clear of second place heading into the final eight games in April, but they still couldn’t help winning 7-of-8 to finish the season 65-17 (11 games up on the Spurs). In 2009-10, the Lakers open April with Utah and San Antonio at home – games that could certainly have implications in the Western Conference standings – before flying to Denver and Minnesota for a back-to-back. Portland then comes to STAPLES for the only time that season, followed by a season-ending home-road back-to-back with Sacramento and the Clippers. In short, April really mirrors the rest of what’s an altogether balanced schedule of “tough” and “weak” opponents judging from the preseason rosters and last season’s performances. If anything, the schedule is characterized by being heavy at home early and heavily away late, a setup that ended up suiting the Lakers just fine in 2008-09.

Extra Credit: The Lakers have a total of 20 back-to-backs throughout the season, one more than their total from last season.

And Finally … Five Alive (Not the citrus drink).

1. @ Denver, Nov. 13: The toughest of L.A.’s early-season contests and a rematch of the WCF.
2. vs. Cleveland, Dec. 25: Shaq, Kobe, LeBron … No explanation necessary.
3. @ Boston, Jan. 31 – L.A.’s biggest mental test last season; Boston fans are always pleasant.
4. @ Orlando, March 7 – The Lakers return to the (humid) site of their 2008-09 Title.
5. vs. San Antonio, April 4 – Kobe, Tim, Pau, Tony, Lamar, Manu, Ron, Richard, Antonio, Andrew