The Los Angeles Lakers (6-5) have a great chance to rebound from their rough 125-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves when they open they four-game home stand against the Brooklyn Nets (4-6). The Nets are coming off a drubbing of their own against the Los Angeles Clippers, and will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
The young Lakers have shown a penchant for consistently playing hard through 11 games this season, even when things aren’t going their way. It’s a testament to the kind of environment Luke Walton has brought with him, where learning on every play – be it a well-executed play or a defensive lapse – is of the utmost importance.
The Lakers will be in an uphill battle in the next game as the San Antonio Spurs roll into town. As of this writing, the Spurs are riding a three-game winning streak, with the lone game before their matchup with the Lakers being a visit to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Both the Lakers and the Spurs will come to the game rested, so it will be interesting to see how the young group, which has so far played well at home, performs against a veteran team.
The Chicago Bulls then come to visit Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back, and coming into the fourth of their six-game road trip. On paper, it should be a good opportunity for the Lakers to pounce on a team that just played the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz in their last three games.
The Lakers end their home stand against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are (as of this writing) in the midst of a four-game slide. The Lakers lost in their previous meeting against the Thunder, when they failed to defend with any kind of consistency the pick-and-roll attacks of Russell Westbrook. If they can show any kind of improvement in that regard, they should already be in a better position than in their first encounter.
