Lakers are 4-5, next 10'games decide the tone of the season

[TKainZero]

Memphis
@boston
@wiz
@bucks
@suns
76ers
Suns
Nugs
Bulls
Kings


The end of this 10 game stretch has the kings/bulls and suns twice.

Bugs and 76ers aren't lighting the world on fire either

First 3 games are very tough. After that, everything is winnable

Lakers need to be above .500 after this 10 game stretch

Starts with 4 games vs playoff likely teams.

[danfantastk32]

Lakers need to be above .500 after this 10 game stretch

Or what? Do we get free tickets to all home games?

This team just needs to work on gelling. We don't need to be worrying about playoff spots, or 10-game runs. If we (by some miracle) make the playoffs...then great. But the next 10 games won't define that. This is the first "road trip" for several players. There's so much work to be done with this team.

Our team last year was playing out of its mind the first 20 games, and then it all just fell apart, so who knows what 10 games mean? We just need to focus on improving.

I hope we do play well.....and Id love to see us over .500, but at the end of the day, unless we go 9-1 or 0-10 or something like that, I don't think the next 10 games are much of a gauge for us.

[Beethoven]

The next 50 or so games will decide the tone of the season.

[SlimShady83]

Mem, Bos, 76ers will all be tough games

The rest are winnable games, not to say we'll win all those game, just saying they are more winnable then the above 3

Bucks might also be a problem

[Landsberger]

This season is practice for next season. We're surprising everyone at the moment but last year we had a nice start only to see it go in a much different direction. I think this team is better led on the floor but I also think we will face some very tough stretches. How they react to that win or lose is more important than their record. Do they get a losers mentality or do they fight. Last year we started to fold the chairs up toward the midpoint of the season.

[Spanish_Laker]

Last season we were 6-5 I think and then we lost 25 of the next 30. We need to win as many games as possible to set the tone of the season. Remember that tanking is not an option this season.

[RingsDontLie]

Just need lonzo to start contributing and I really think we can get on a good run here.

[TylersLakers]

Vs Memphis: L
@ Boston: L
@ Wizards: L
@ Milwaukee: L
@ Phoenix: L
vs Philadelphia: W
vs Phoenix: W
vs Denver: L
vs Chicago: W
vs Sacramento: W

That would put us at 8-11. Tonight's a big one.

[TKainZero]

Last season we were 6-5 I think and then we lost 25 of the next 30. We need to win as many games as possible to set the tone of the season. Remember that tanking is not an option this season.

Lakers were 10--0 last year then injuries hit hard

Really hard

[TKainZero]

Vs Memphis: L
@ Boston: L
@ Wizards: L
@ Milwaukee: L
@ Phoenix: L
vs Philadelphia: W
vs Phoenix: W
vs Denver: L
vs Chicago: W
vs Sacramento: W

That would put us at 8-11. Tonight's a big one.

Lakers win vs Memphis

Now let's get a win at Boston to start this 4 am game road trip

[Slink]

I think Lakers lose the first three. Celtics are are on a roll and Wizards will want to avenge their last loss to Lakers. By the time we play Bucks it will have been three games in four days. This young squad gonna be tired.

[SlimShady83]

If we can beat BOS I'll be happy asf as most of my mates go for Bos lol I don't care if we lose too philly or bucks, just hope we beat B-town

[LakersSoul]

I know its early but...

Dont look now but we are 5-5 and tied for 8th in the playoff standing. We need to keep playing better D and team basketball. I dont care how many shots Lonzo takes and what his % are but he has to stay active and lead this team.

[Slava]

If we win single game from that East coast trip I'll be happy. Those are some good teams.

[Franc]

Last season we were 6-5 I think and then we lost 25 of the next 30. We need to win as many games as possible to set the tone of the season. Remember that tanking is not an option this season.

Lakers were 10--0 last year then injuries hit hard

Really hard

It doesn't mean, the same will happen this year, I hope not.

[karkinos]

tone of season is post allstar break

[LakersLegacy]

Last season we were 6-5 I think and then we lost 25 of the next 30. We need to win as many games as possible to set the tone of the season. Remember that tanking is not an option this season.

Hope it's not a rerun. Lol

Next 10 games let's do it!

[RingsDontLie]

Man 5-8 already, Basketball gods teasing us making us believe playoffs are within reach early in the season. Well I guess it doesn’t matter in the end too much. GSW just gonna win it all any way. Maybe it’s better this way. The more of a losing record we have, the more we can test the young guns and allow them to carry the team and put up big numbers.

[TheHartBreakKid]

When i first looked at those ten games, I had us going 6-4, which would have had us at 9-10 when it was all said and done.

I thought we would win 4 out of the 5 games against the Sunsx2, Bulls, Kings, 76ers, while, while taking one of the Mem, Den games, and one of the three eastern road games.


Obviously 1-3 in the first four isn't a good start, and for my prediction to happen, we either need to beat all 5 of the games in the first group, or win 4 and also beat the Nuggets. That being said, 5-5 is still looking very possible, and the fact that we competed in those three losses pretty decently makes me think that this team isn't in a slump, or hasn't experienced a notable drop off in their play compared to before the road trip. Of course, it's easier said than done, and you have to actually go out there and win the games, and considering our overall talent level, it's hard for me to see any game as near sure thing, especially the road game against the Suns and the home game vs the Sixers. I expect both those games to be very competitive even if we come out at full force.

Tonight is a huge huge game though. Going into a home stand with 4 winnable games, I think we need the team to believe that they really are a step better than the Kings/Bulls/Suns, and with such a young team, a 4 game losing streak can really affect that confidence. If this team is as good as we think it is, I expect us to go no worse than 4-2 in the remaining 6 games...5-1 would be overachieving imo, and 6-0 is pretty much a fairly tale.



Also, regarding last season, IIRC Dlo missed a couple of games alongside other minor injuries that lead to us taking a step back at a tough time in the schedule. The team lost a lot of it's confidence/energy after some losses in that period before we became fully healthy again, and before we regained that confidence, energy and chemistry, we were out of the playoff race barring a miracle, which lead to us pretty much going in tank mode. Going in "Tank Mode" obvious led to more losses due personnel decisions, but also, lead to more losses again due to the team's mindset and energy as a whole. I can't stress it enough....a good young player will obviously play hard win or lose,but not many young players will play good team ball win or lose. I'm not saying the youngsters stopped trying as hard....I'm saying they stopped making that extra pass...they stopped being as aware of their teammates and rotations on defense...the team wasn't the same anymore when we entered tank mode, more so due to mindset rather than less play for the veterans. After benching the vets and trading Lou, our season was pretty much over at that point, but ironically enough we found some of that early season success towards the end of the year despite being in Tank mode, and I'll admit I'm not sure if that's due to coaching and chemistry, or just a random stroke of luck/other teams not going 100%, etc. It was really tough to watch enough of those games to really get a good grasp on it.


Anyways, my point being....we won't be entering tank mode as we have no incentive to do so. We have avoided a major injury (an injury to Randle, Lopez, Ingram, imo), while last year Dlo going out really hurt us ; We were 7-5 in the first 12 games when he was healthy, before he missed one game which we lost, and came back at nowhere near 100% for another game which we alos lost, before being out for 9 games in which we went 3-9. By the time he returned, again not being a 100%, we were 6 games under .500, and the season was pretty much over. Also, despite our record being better at this point last year, I think we are comfortably a better team this year, as we do most of our damage on the defensive end, while last year our great start was mainly due our offense....an offense which heavily relied on young streaky shooters, who went cold later on due a combination coming back to their averages, or a drop in confidence. When the offense went, so did our effort on defense, as offense was what sparked that team. This year, this is by all means a defensive team so far. Our shooting hasn't by been hot, or even good by any stretch. Our defensive is energizing our offense right now. Yes mindset, energy, and injuries can affect our defense this year just like they affected our O last year, but I think a good systematic defensive effort is far less vulnerable to slumps, and if anything, we just may start heating up a little on the offensive end.



To conclude my long wordy post, I think factors like energy, confidence, etc are very critical for such a young team. Our start to this 10 game stretch has been close to bad as possible, and there is always a valid concern regarding our team losing it's edge. Losses lead to selfish, lethargic, and low confidence play , and we aren't nearly talented enough to have any kind of success with such play. For a team like us, a mid november game in PHX such as tonight matters way more than it would for most other teams, and it is critical for us to come back strong before the losing mentality starts to settle in. All that said, I'm very optimistic about this team compared to last year, as I explained above. The fact that we have competed in pretty much every game, despite streaky shooting from some of our key players, and downright terrible shooters from a couple others, makes me think that this team is only going to get better, rather than worse, IF they manage to maintain their confidence as a collective unit.

[TheHartBreakKid]

Man 5-8 already, Basketball gods teasing us making us believe playoffs are within reach early in the season. Well I guess it doesn’t matter in the end too much. GSW just gonna win it all any way. Maybe it’s better this way. The more of a losing record we have, the more we can test the young guns and allow them to carry the team and put up big numbers.

well, it's not like we have other options rather than the young guns. This isn't last year. Whether we win or lose, our young players are getting and will have more than enough opportunities, so there really isn't a silver lining in us not making a playoff run, especially without a pick. But you are right, 8th seed vs 9-11th seed really won't matter too much at the end, other than playoff experience for the young guys and the appeal of the team from the perspective of free agents. That playoff experience or status as a playoff team certainly has some value, but 9-11th and an improved record from last year are definitely what I would consider a consistent season. My main concern, as I went into in my previous rant/post, is the mentality of the team overall. A full collapse and another top 5 record would be terrible for our mentality. Clear and sustained improvement is what really matters though, not necessarily making the playoffs, because lets face it, the West is extra deep this year even for it's standards....playoffs was always a pipe dream, even despite the hot start.