With one star who is 37 years old (LeBron James) and another one who has 37-year-old knees (Anthony Davis), the Los Angeles Lakers need all the rest that they can get. Fortunately for them, their schedule for next season will be extremely conducive to that much.
The NBA officially released the 2022-23 schedule for all 30 teams this week. One of the most noteworthy revelations (pointed out by Matt Moore of CBS Sports) was that the Lakers are tied for the fewest back-to-back sets in the league with 12. Moore also notes that the Lakers are tied for the most rest advantage games as well (games which they will go into with more days of rest than their opponents).
The average number of back-to-backs next season among all teams is 13.3. Golden State, Sacramento, Utah, Chicago, and the LA Clippers are tied for the most back-to-back sets with 15 of them each.
The Lakers went 33-49 last season and missed the playoffs altogether in one of the most disappointing years in franchise history. James sat out 26 games because of injury, and Davis missed 42 games of his own. But between this favorable schedule and the other positive development from earlier in the day on Wednesday, things are already looking up for the purple and gold.
