LOS ANGELES, CA – While most of America brace for the rigors of the holiday season, the Los Angeles Lakers will instead brace for a challenging December schedule which will feature eight games against elite opponents both at home and on the road.
The Lakers (17-3) already got off to a shaky start to the month falling to the Dallas Mavericks 114-100 in a Sunday matinee snapping their 10-game winning streak.
They will now try to bounce back on the road during a three-game road trip which will feature a Mile High back-to-back set in Denver and Utah followed by a stop in Portland.
The Lakers have had some impressive wins to start the season; however, most of their competition has been against sub-.500 opponents, so one could argue they should have taken care of business against those teams.
The games they lost were to the L.A. Clippers, Raptors, and the Mavs, all playoff-caliber teams. Now they will get a steady diet of that elite competition this month with the majority of those games coming on the road.
In addition to the three stops on this road trip, the Lakers will also face the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Blazers again on the road while playing the Clippers (on Christmas Day), Nuggets, and Mavericks at home later in the month.
The Lakers have established themselves as one of the more complete teams in the league ranking among the best in offensive and defensive efficiency. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have given new meaning to the term dynamic duo and the supporting cast has proven to be solid as well.
Head coach Frank Vogel, recently named NBA’s Western Conference Coach of the Month for November, spoke about their upcoming road trip and confidence in his team.
“I believe in our guys,” Vogel said. “If we play to our abilities, there’s no one we can’t beat and nowhere we can’t get a W.”
Davis went one step further stating the team has a much loftier goal.
“We don’t want to lose two in a row ever,” Davis said after Sunday’s loss to Dallas. “We want to make sure we correct everything we did poorly tonight, especially rebounding.”
December will truly be littered with tests for the Lakers to see how they stack up against deep and talented teams, but more importantly it will test their toughness amidst adversity.
Has the first quarter of the season been a true representation of their greatness or a facade made up of cupcake opponents? This month should reveal quite a bit.
