Of the 30 teams in the NBA, only two have a harder remaining schedule on paper than the Los Angeles Lakers (.525 remaining opponent winning percentage) do, according to Tankathon: The Milwaukee Bucks (.551) and the New York Knicks (.528).
With that level of theoretical opponent difficulty awaiting the currently 20-19 Lakers as they try to make up ground in the Western Conference standings, it is fair to prognosticate that the team has a tough road ahead. But head coach Frank Vogel said at the team’s Thursday practice that he’s not concerned, and his reasoning honestly makes quite a bit of sense, especially coming from such an eternal optimist.