Our March Schedule

March will be a somewhat important month for us. At the time this was posted, the Lakers are 45-15, but Dallas (and Denver & Utah for that matter) are playing some good ball. The Lakers need to keep their lead in the Western Conference and, at the same time, try to catch the Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA. You always want to get home court advantage, if you can get it. The way this season is winding down, reminds me of last year. Lakers start off quick, get bored, try and pick it up after the All-Star break, and lose home court advantage by 1 game. And since I haven't seen anyone discuss our upcoming schedule for this month, I thought I would.

A quick look at our schedule shows that there are only 3 back-to-backs, where all those games are on the road. The Lakers will be doing a lot of traveling this month, as they only have 4 home games and 11 away games. Fortunately, this "road trip" will consist of some of the "bottom-feeders" in the east as well as the west. There are some tough match ups for us on the road, but most of them we should be rested for. For the schedule and my thoughts, with some pictures, please read on! (It's a pretty long post)

Tuesday, March 2 - LA Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers (20-39, 5th in Central, 14th in East)
 
^^^"Hand down, Man down" - With the Lakers at home, and having a day of rest, I don't see how we can lose this game. Unless we pull a "Celtics vs Nets" move and totally blow it. The Pacers are injured, making cap room for next summers off season, playing for John Wall, just plain bad. I'm guessing we should be able to pull out the "W". Good way to start the month. 1-0 (46-15).

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Thursday, March 4 - LA Lakers @ Miami Heat (29-31, 3rd in Southeast, 8th in East)

^^^"Big Zo. I'm glad he got a ring before he retired" - The first of a back to back. Unless the Heat played like they did when we played them in LA (where Kobe saved us with a "lucky" shot), I don't see them beating us. Wade is just coming back from injury, and The Heat are currently on a 4 game losing streak. We should be able to keep D-Wade in check. 2-0 (47-15).

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Friday, March 5 - LA Lakers @ Charlotte Bobcats (28-30, 4th in Southeast, 9th in East)
 
^^^"Grandmama" - The second of a back to back. The Lakers are currently 10-5 in these situations, with all those loses coming on the road @ Den, Utah, Clips, Mem & Dal. Considering that 3 of those teams are championship contenders, I am going to throw the 2 fluke games out of the window and say the Lakers come focused and ready (for the most part) on back to backs on the road. I'm hoping we can pull out this win. The Bobcats have to play at Boston in their previous game and might possibly be a little worn out from that game and the travel. Where as the Lakers only have to travel from Miami to Charlotte. 3-0 (48-15).

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Sunday, March 7 - LA Lakers @ Orlando Magic (41-20, 1st in Southeast, 2nd in East)
 
^^^"Remember the Lil Penny commercials?" - A nice game to sit down and watch on a Sunday Afternoon. Considering the Lakers cant win every game, and I think they will lose either the Charlotte game or this game, I will mark this one down as a loss. The Magic are playing pretty well right now and have been hot from behind the arc recently. They will want revenge for last year and the game earlier this year as well. Plus, they are on their home court. 3-1 (48-16).

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Tuesday, March 9th - LA Lakers vs Toronto Raptors (31-28, 2nd in Atlantic, 5th in East)
 

^^^"I think Bosh is good as gone. Every superstar leaves Toronto." - The Lakers return home for one game and some home cooking and relaxation with their families. The Raptors have lost 5 of 7, with their only wins being against NJ and Was. And I believe Turkoglu got hurt last night. I expect the Lakers to win this one, and get some revenge for the game we lost in Toronto. There is no way Toronto sweeps the series against LA. 4-1 (49-16).

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Friday, March 12 - LA Lakers @ Phoenix Suns (38-24, 2nd in Pacific, 5th in West)

^^^"The 5 buck box, it rox, it rox" - The Lakers will be coming off of 2 days of rest, with a small trip down to Phoenix. However, the Suns will be coming off of 5 days of rest. Kinda odd?!? So both teams will be rested. The Suns maybe a little to rested and a little rusty. We are 2-1 against Phoenix this year with both those wins coming at home with the loss on the road. However, I don't see the Lakers losing 2 in a row, especially with rest in between. 5-1 (50-16).

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Monday, March 15 - LA Lakers @ Golden State Warriors (17-41, 5th in Pacific, 14th in West)
 
^^^"Why would you go alone?" - The Warriors are hurt, have no defense, but can score (at times). I might have a biased eye, but I don't see the Lakers losing this game either. They are tuning up for another playoff run, and wont drop one to the 2nd to last place team in the West. Hopefully this is a blow out, so we can get the starters some rest as it is the first of a back to back. BTW, Morrow is a free agent next year and the man is deadly from 3 point range. Cant we just switch him with Sasha? 6-1 (51-16).

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Tuesday, March 16 - LA Lakers @ Sacramento Kings (20-39, 4th in Pacific, 13th in West)
 
^^^" oohhhh, the good ol' days" - Sacramento is at the bottom of the West, but their fans HATE The Lakers. And this is the 2nd of a back to back. Considering that good teams always lose a couple games to the "bottom-feeders", I will mark this as a loss. I'd rather not, but there is going to be a fluke lose in their somewhere, unless the Lakers play like they are capable and blow this team out. But this is The Lakers - they play down to their competition and don't seem to care until the playoffs. 6-2 (51-17).

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Friday, March 19 - LA Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves (14-47, 5th in Northwest, 15th in West)
 
^^^"MAD DOG. Man, how I miss his dances" - The Lakers return home to face the worst team in the West. Not sure how they drop this one, baring half the team gets injured. (don't worry, I typed that while crossing my fingers). The Wolves just aren't very good and I don't know how they can hang with the Lakers. 7-2 (52-17).

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Sunday, March 21 - LA Lakers vs Washington Wizards (21-36, 5th in Southeast, 11th in East)

^^^"Imagine if he didn't go play baseball andjust stayed with the Bulls" - The Lakers play their final game at home for the month against the lowly Wizards. Again, another "bottom-feeder". However, Blatche has been playing out of his mind and leading that team to a couple wins. I just don't see him doing that against the front court of the Lakers. So, mark this one up as another "W". 8-2 (53-17).

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Wednesday, March 24 - LA Lakers @ San Antonio Spurs (34-24, 2nd in Northwest, 7th in West)

 
^^^"It's all about the intangibles" - It's crazy to see the Spurs as the 7th seed in the West. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Both teams will be rested and ready to rumble. You never know what Spurs team you are going to get this year (kinda the same with The Lakers). With the decline the Spurs are on, and the Jefferson Experiment still going on, I'm gonna say the Lakers pull out this win. I see the game being very close, but I can also see Pop resting Duncan or Parker or Manu or all three. You never know with that guy. 9-2 (54-17).

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Friday, March 26 - LA Lakers @ Oklahoma City Thunder (35-23, 3rd in Northwest, 6th in West)

^^^"I still despise GP for some reason" - The first of a back to back in Oklahoma. I feel as if the Lakers will go 1-1 on this back to back. Durant has been on fire and carrying his team. And I don't see that stopping any time soon. Durant will need a huge game to beat The Lakers, but I think he will get it done. Lakers cant win 'em all (well, they can, but it just doesn't happen). I'm calling it now - In 4 or 5 years "Durantula" will be in a Laker uniform. 9-3 (54-18).

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Saturday, March 27 - LA Lakers @ Houston Rockets (30-29, 3rd in Southwest, 9th in West)

^^^"Again, it's all about the intangibles" - As I stated in the previous game, I think The Lakers will split this back to back. Even if The Lakers win in Oklahoma, I see that being a close game, which will be our down fall the next night. The Lakers just don't lose two in a row very often (only twice this year). I don't think Ron-Ron wants to lose in Houston and will push The Lakers to victory. 10-3 (55-18).

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Monday, March 29 - LA Lakers @ New Orleans Hornets (31-30, 4th in Southwest, 11th in West)

^^^"You better be able to get a rebound over D-Fish" - Chris Paul will likely be back from injury by now, but will be working back into shape and getting used to the flow of the game again. Phil should be figuring out his rotations and having this Laker train rolling along (no more Gasol, Sasha, Powell, Morrison, Farmar squads out there). The Lakers should pull this one out although the Hornets are always dangerous. 11-3 (56-18).

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Wednesday, March 31 - LA Lakers @ Atlanta Hawks (38-21, 2nd in Southeast, 3rd in East)

 
^^^"Where the F&@% did he go? Cant we sign him?" - The Lakers last game of the month is at Atlanta. The Hawks will be rested and, well, the Lakers will be ready to go home. I can see The Lakers dropping this game. We beat them early in the season (the 3rd game of the year), but we were playing well then, and they were not. I see the Lakers behind lackadaisical and looking forward to heading home. 11-4 (56-19).

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So, IMO, the Lakers go 11-4 this month and will be 56-19 going into April. They will have 7 games in April to make sure everything is running smoothly. And to hopefully secure home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Dare I make a prediction of a final record of 61-21.

5 of the remaining 7 games in April will be at home, well actually 4, but the last game of the year is away at the Clippers. Technically an away game, but not really. They play Utah, SA, Portland at home & an away game at Denver in April. A couple measuring games to see where we are at and how well the team is playing. By that time, I expect this team to be playing the best it has all year. So they can bring home one of these:

And eventually these two as well:

LAKERS 4 LIFE!!!