January and February include some marquee games, and special matchups. On MLK Day the Oklahoma City Thunder will come to Staples Center, and Boston makes its only visit to Southern California on January 30th.
As for February, the Lakers will make their only visit to Boston to face the Celtics, and then they will take their lone trip to New York City.
As the All-Star weekend approaches, the Lakers and the rest of the NBA should be at full-steam ahead. Players should be situated with their teams and should understand the new offenses.
The Lakers will most likely ignore action during the trade deadline, and instead they will be setting up the All-Star festivities.
The 2011 NBA All-Star weekend will be held in Los Angeles and the Lakers will have many representatives for the crowd.
Shannon Brown may try to redeem himself in the Dunk Contest, and Andrew Bynum has a chance of making the All-Star team. The All-Star festivities should be exciting, and if any city can host the events, it’s Los Angeles.
The remainder of the regular season should be an exciting stretch. The Lakers will most likely lock-up the Western Conference at this point, and will have to wait and see who they will play in the first round. March of 2011 is headlined by the Lakers’ only visit to Miami and the Orlando Magic’s only game in Los Angeles.
As April wraps up, the Lakers will be getting ready for another title run. The team will most likely finish as the top team in the West, but may face a 50+ win team in the first round.
Next: Previewing the Playoffs