The Los Angeles Lakers announced their 2019-20 regular season schedule on Monday, with a team that now has both LeBron James and Anthony Davis set to be a fixture on national television broadcasts.
That’s because they will be featured a whopping 30 times among their 82 games.
The Lakers, under new head coach Frank Vogel, will get their season underway on Oct. 22, when they play a “road” contest against their Staples Center co-tenants, the Los Angeles Clippers. The two teams will also battle on Christmas, with the Lakers doing the hosting. This intracity rivalry has picked up plenty of steam after the Clippers signed free agent Kawhi Leonard following his rejection of the Lakers.
Another Lakers game that will draw plenty of attention from all basketball fans will be Davis’ return to the Big Easy on Nov. 27 to face his old team, the New Orleans Pelicans. In addition to gauging how Pelicans fans react to Davis, the game will also offer a glimpse of this year’s top overall draft pick, New Orleans’ Zion Williamson.
The defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors will make their only Staples Center appearance on Nov. 10, followed three nights later with a visit by the suddenly vulnerable Golden State Warriors.
In last season’s NBA Finals against the Raptors, Warriors guard Klay Thompson tore his ACL and isn’t expected to play until sometime in 2020. In addition, forward Kevin Durant left in free agency and DeMarcus Cousins signed with the Lakers.
The Lakers will conclude their regular season on Apr. 15 with a road game against the Phoenix Suns. The expectation is that with James and Davis in the lineup, the team will break it’s postseason dry spell that’s kept them out during the past six seasons.
