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#2 The LA Lakers' back-to-back games
The LA Lakers feature 12 back-to-back games in the 2021-22 NBA season, which isn't a very high number considering the jam-packed and condensed schedule last season.
They are also below the league average of 13.7 back-to-backs. The LA Lakers will be entering the new season with a 120-day offseason, as Game 6 of the Suns series was on June 3rd, and the opening night of next season is on October 3rd. So the back-to-back games shouldn't bother them.
In two of the 12 back-to-back schedules, there will be no travel. One is a homestand with the Spurs and Bulls visiting, and the other one is a home game against the Blazers and then a road game at Clippers right next door.
#3 The LA Lakers' key matchups
![LeBron James (left) and Stephen Curry [Source: USA Today]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/08/771ba-16294922171095-800.jpg)
The LA Lakers start their campaign with a marquee matchup against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, in a replay of their last season's blockbuster play-in tournament matchup.
They face the Brooklyn Nets superteam with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden on Christmas Day. The Christmas Day matchup is arguably the biggest game of the year for any team.
For starters, Durant and LeBron James will face each for the first time since the 2018 Christmas game, as James missed the April matchup last season, and Durant missed the earlier ones (he was injured in 2019-20). Moreover, former teammates Irving and James will face each other again and so will Westbrook and Durant.
The LA Lakers face the Utah Jazz on MLK Day. Moreover, they will take on Golden State and Phoenix four times and face Denver and Dallas thrice, with two games in each matchup on the road. They'll visit New Orleans and Utah just once next season.
The LA Lakers' schedule has 42 nationally televised games on either ESPN, ABC, NBA TV or TNT. They have 56% of their home games on the weekend, including Friday, above the league average of 45%.
The LA Lakers currently have the second-best odds to win the 2022 NBA championship, just a smidge behind the Brooklyn Nets. As is well known, LeBron James is quite hungry for another championship, and after receiving no votes for the 'best player of the league' poll, we should expect an MVP-caliber campaign from the four-time MVP.
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