While Americans all over the country were watching the Detroit Lions beat down on the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving day, the Los Angeles Lakers were hard at work at their practice facility in El Segundo, Ca.
Lakers coach Byron Scott gathered his team before noon in Los Angeles with the hopes to get in necessary work ahead of the arrival of the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center on Friday night.
While home may be a happy place for most, home has been horrible for the Lakers.
After Wednesday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers have lost seven of their eight games at home during the 2014-15 season. That is shockingly poor by any standards. Remove the Lakers' home record, and they're 2-5, which would be a 23-win team. Include the home record, and the Lakers are on pace for 16-win season.
Exactly one month into the season, the Lakers can only count one victory on their home court, and that victory came against the Eastern Conference's third worst team: the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets, incidentally, have a 1-7 road record.
Whether or not the 2014-15 season is dead on arrival, this team needs to grow a spine and put forward performances that represent LA. Wearing the purple and gold expresses pride in Los Angeles, and at the moment, the Lakers aren't doing LA proud.
For the people of LA, 84-degree weather in November makes it difficult to get too upset, but if the Lakers don't start winning games soon, the mood at Staples Center will feel icier than Alaska in January. What does that feel like exactly? Well, remember the 48-point lost to the Clippers a season ago?
On a positive note, the 2014-15 Lakers don't look like they'll lose by 50 points to anyone, but they need to win sooner rather than later.
On Friday, The Minnesota Timberwolves offer the perfect opportunity. The T-Wolves have only won one road game in six tries. At 3-10, Minnesota has as many wins as the Lakers, and most recently, the Timberwolves lost to the Milwaukee Bucks by 17 points in Minneapolis.
To say the Lakers are better than the Minnesota Timberwolves is not a reach. Kevin Love is gone, Ricky Rubio is out injured and the team is starting two rookies. The Timberwolves rank in the bottom-third of the league with regards to turnovers per game. Also, Minnesota averages the fewest three-point attempts per game, 14.9, and that's another massive positive considering the Lakers' defense allows the second most three-point makes in the league, 10.2.
On Sunday, the best team in the Eastern Conference comes to Staples Center, and after that, the guys take off on a three-game road trip. To say a game in late November is a must-win may sound insane. With that in mind, for the psyche of this team and the fans at home, Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves is a must-win for the Los Angeles Lakers.
