Lakers: “All-Time” team announced, new schedule; latest news, rumors & more
By Jason Reed
An “All-Time” team and next year’s schedule were both released in the past few days, headlining the latest Lakers news, rumors and more.
Despite being one of the worst basketball teams in the NBA the last few seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have stayed more than relevant. With basketball legend Magic Johnson running things, the Lakers have been one of the more proactive teams this offseason.
This had led to high expectations for Los Angeles fans. Lonzo Ball is now running the offense at point guard, with new additions Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brook Lopez primed to play key roles. Thus, these high expectations and this new look in Los Angeles has garnered them familiar big market treatment.
Turn on SportsCenter and you will likely see something about the Lakers in your first 30 minutes of watching. Whether it is about Ball, or whatever superstar is tied to LA at the moment, they are always talked about. Not only is the team getting exposure on ESPN’s flagship program, Lonzo Ball and company will have a chance to showcase their skills to the entire country.
2017-18 NBA Schedule favors Los Angeles
Despite being in the worst stretch in franchise history, the Lakers are going to have more than their fair share of chances on National Television. Because of the interest primarily around Ball, the Lakers will be nationally televised 35 times next season (Including NBATV). In comparison, the Clippers are going to be nationally televised 31 times.
This seems even crazier because the defending champion Golden State Warriors will only be nationally televised eight more times than the Lakers. It is definitely understandable that TV markets would favor the big cities, but the New York Knicks were nationally televised just 13 times last year.
Granted, the Knicks were terrible. However, they had big names such as Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzings. These are established guys in the NBA, Ball is merely a hype machine following his great Summer League.