No. 2: The Los Angeles Lakers
Schedule Score: 1.5
The Lakers are going to have a little bit of a tough opening stretch, facing the Clippers (who they have a losing record against) and the Raptors (East’s second best team) in their first two games. However, a cooling off period of the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder should put them at either 2-2 or 3-1, and help them into a back half of their schedule that, again, contains some tough competition.
In fact, the Lakers only have one opponent who isn’t a current playoff team, and it’s the Sacramento Kings, who holds their last game of the eight-game stretch. Los Angeles is aided by the deep selection of teams in the West, that’s true, however their also helped by the fact that they just seem to keep winning. It’s an annoying habit they have, I know, but one which has undoubtedly helped them achieve the best record in the West.
Much like the Nuggets, the Lakers strategy of resting stars (should they choose to), almost certainly won’t hurt them, but may actually make the bubble a little more entertaining.