March 6th at San Antonio Spurs
The Lakers first notable game will be this Sunday when they travel to San Antonio to play the best team in the NBA. The Spurs currently hold the best record in the league and they have been the top ranked team for nearly the entire season. The Lakers have lost their previous two meetings with the Spurs, including a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer in front of the Staples Center crowd. However, this time around, the Lakers are a much more improved team and they have won all five of their games since the All-Star break.
As of March 4th the Lakers are 7.5 games behind the Spurs for the top seed in the Western Conference, but a Lakers win on Sunday could cut that deficit to 6.5 games. Tony Parker will most likely not participate in this game, so the Lakers must take full advantage of the Spurs void at the starting point guard position. The Lakers need to win in San Antonio in order to start their month on the right foot.
March 8th at Atlanta Hawks
After a day’s worth of rest, the Lakers will travel to the Phillips Arena to play the young Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers played the Hawks in Staples Center on February 22nd, and they won in convincing fashion. However, the only way the Lakers can sweep the season series is if they win a game in front of the hostile Atlanta crowd.
The Hawks are a very mercurial team, as in certain games they will resemble a championship team, while other times they are very nonchalant. Atlanta, however, has changed up its roster by adding point guard Kirk Hinrich. Although the Hawks have been overlooked by many analysts, they are fully capable of pulling off an upset.
