There are three guarantees in life: Death, taxes and the Lakers playing down to their opponent. Think that’s an overstatement?
After losing to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday and beating the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, the Lakers are now 14-7 against bottom-10 NBA teams this season, and 6-3 against bottom-five teams. Sure, it’s a winning record, but the number in the loss column should be significantly lower.
However, it’s not just the bad teams they play down to; they also play up to their opponents.
With the exception of the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, who the Lakers have yet to play, Los Angeles has beaten each other top-10 teams in the NBA at least once this season.