Lakers News: Expert Convinced This Stretch Of 2023-24 Will Be Ultimate Test For LA
The new season for your Los Angeles Lakers is right around the corner, and the excitement around the team is sky-high. LA is coming off a run to the Western Conference Finals, and now they return most of the core from last season.
As per usual, the Lakers will start the season off with a tough schedule, but it does give them a chance to set the tone for the rest of the year. It will give them a slight measuring stick for how they stack up against some of the other elite teams in the NBA.
ESPN writer Tim Bontemps believes that the early slate for the Lakers will be a great test for the team, due to the level of competition that they are scheduled to face.
“The Lakers will get an interesting test to begin the season, with games against Denver, Phoenix and Sacramento across the first week, followed by a nearly immediate cross-country road trip that begins in Miami and ends in Phoenix. We should at least have an idea by then if the version of the Lakers that advanced to the West finals last season has returned.”
The opening two games of the season will see the Lakers heading to Denver to take on the defending champion Nuggets, and then they return home to take on the high-powered Phoenix Suns.
LA has a chance to spoil the Nuggets' ring ceremony and get some revenge on Denver for beating them in the postseason last year. Many Los Angeles players believe that they should have beaten Denver (although, to be fair, they got swept), and now they'll get a chance to right some wrongs.
Beating the starry Phoenix Suns will be a tough task, but one that they need to do to reach their goals. Maximum-salaried Suns stars Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Deandre Ayton will likely give the Lakers some fits, but their matchup should be a great challenge to open the year.
The entire NBA is a battleground nowadays, with every team being able to take down someone else on any given night. The Lakers have their work cut out for them this season, but they are more than capable of being a dominant team in their own right.
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