Lakers schedule analysis: Opening match against the Warriors, Christmas staged the Zhandu fight, 8 consecutive away games at the end of January

On August 15, the full schedule of the Lakers' 2025-26 regular season was released. The Lakers will usher in the regular season opening game on October 22 and face their old opponent Warriors. Since James joined the Lakers, the Lake War has become the highlight of the NBA. James is already 40 years old, and the showdown between him and Curry is one less. In the Christmas game on December 26, the Lakers and Rockets fought, and the match between James and Durant's big and small kings was also seen as one less match.

The Lakers have 34 live broadcasts across the United States in the new season, tied for the most with the Thunder, Warriors and the Knicks. The Lakers and Warriors are traffic squads, while the Thunder and the Knicks have become the new targets of the league. The Lakers have 14 back-to-back games throughout the season, and the start schedule is not particularly difficult. The opponents in the first 10 games are the Warriors, Timberwolves, Kings (avoid), Trail Blazers, Timberwolves (avoid), Grizzlies (avoid), Heat, Trail Blazers (avoid), Spurs and Hawks (avoid).

If the Lakers can get into the form faster, then there is a chance to play a good start to the season. The Lakers will usher in their first Los Angeles derby in the 2025-26 season on November 26, and play against the Clippers. This summer, the Clippers recruited soldiers and introduced generals such as Brooke Lopez, Bill, and Paul, and their strength on paper was greatly improved. However, the Clippers have also become the oldest team in the league in average age.

The Lakers also strengthened their lineup this summer. Although they lost Finney Smith, the joining of Ayton, Smart and Laravia has made the Lakers' overall strength improve significantly compared to last season's playoffs, especially the loopholes in the center position have been made up. Who can win the Los Angeles derby?

The Lakers will face the Mavericks on November 29. What will happen to Doncic in the weight-lossing version of Doncic against his old club is a big highlight. One reason why the Mavericks traded Doncic is that Doncic is negligent in body control, but this summer, Doncic has lost weight perfectly after hard training. Doncic held back his energy and wanted to justify himself, and he would never be lenient in his old club. Of course, in this game, James and Brother Davis met and fought each other, which were also a highlight.

Lakers will fight the Rockets in the Christmas game. The Rockets became the biggest winner this summer, introducing players such as Durant and Capela, and becoming a championship team. This showdown should be very intense.

The Lakers have three consecutive away schedules for at least 5 consecutive away matches in the new season, of which 8 consecutive away matches will be held on January 21, which will be a relatively difficult schedule for the Lakers. In the away tour, the Lakers will play against the Nuggets, Clippers, Mavericks, Bulls, Cavaliers, Wizards, Knicks and Nets, and 5 of them will play against strong teams.

The Lakers will also play tough battles in the final stage of April. In the 7 games in April, the Lakers will play against the Cavaliers, Thunder (away), Mavericks (away), Thunder, Warriors (away), Suns and Jazz in turn. Obviously, in the last seven games, the Lakers have 5 games to play in the championship-level team.

It is worth mentioning that an NBA executive was interviewed by US media Lakers Daily. The executive believes that the Lakers have a chance to reach the Western Conference Finals in the new season.

"Last season as the third seed of the (Western) they had achieved that without the starting level center. By bringing in Ayton and Smart, they certainly became stronger. I think they have a chance to reach the division final. You can never ignore LeBron (James), no matter how old he is, he is still very good on the offense. And everyone is talking about how good Luca (Doncic) looks after losing weight. He may be eager to win the championship next season," the executive said.