Lakers Strive for Faster Starts

The Lakers next three games are against teams that are 15-32, so instead of setting winning as their goal (which is almost inevitable) they are aiming for faster starts as a personal team goal instead. The Lakers will play Indiana (6-10), Philadelphia (7-10) and Washington (2-12) and plan on trying to improve upon their slow starts. Lakers center Andrew Bynum told the L.A. Times: “I would say the first quarter. We have to limit the amount of points by the other teams. If we’re not at home, we won’t have the fans or the atmosphere. It’s going to be momentum for them.”

Although the Lakers have an incredible record this season, they have set a trend for not doing so stellar in the first half; their average point differential going into halftime is plus-4.9 points, but their average margin of victory is 15.5 points per game. The Lakers are 14-1 overall and 5-0 on the road and have another back-to-back tonight at Indiana, Wednesday at Philadelphia. Lakers forward Pau Gasol told the Times, “Usually teams play better at home. You don’t want to come out thinking you have the win guaranteed. We have to go there, play hard and set a tone early on and do what we’ve been doing.”

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