Are the Lakers actually good?
No. They've just been on a string of catching teams from thousands of miles away in the middle of road trips, coming off games against more difficult opponents. They have 17 home games against teams from East of the Mississippi -- this is their 5th such game, despite being only 10 games into the season. In other words, so far 50% of their games have been Eastern teams at home (including Memphis due to geography), and going the rest of the way only 16% of their games will be like this. Heck, if you want to thrown in New Orleans, 60% of their games have been at home vs. Eastern teams. This has pretty much been the easiest portion of their schedule for the entire season, and if they hold on and win tonight, they'll have gone 5-5 during it. [EDIT: It looks like on the other side of their road trip East this week they have one more easy stretch, with 2 vs. Suns, hosting Chicago and Philly, and @ SAC over a 6 game stretch. Then it's five months against the real teams of the NBA, and not at home nearly as much.]
I think they're a 24-28 win team. Unfortunately for lottery odds this year, it probably means they'll be somewhere between 5th and 8th worst. But they're not good, and we'll certainly get to watch the draft lottery with a reasonable chance of excitement, but with a higher chance of disappointment.
Topic: 2017-18 Lakers Season Watch Thread (27-34, 10th Slot on 3/2) (Read 222799 times)