It seems that despite losing Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets in free agency, the Los Angeles Lakers are still popular enough to be featured in 29 nationally televised games for the 2013-14 NBA season.
It may come as bit of a shock especially given that they'll be featured in more nationally televised games than the two-time defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, and there still remains to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding the immediate future for Kobe Bryant.
Not only is Bryant's recovery timetable from Achilles surgery uncertain moving forward, but the franchise still has a brutal schedule coming up with a team consisting of role players and aging stars.
The Lakers will be tested right out the gates next season with the team set to face the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs in the first three games of the season. After the aging squad will also have to deal with rough stretches during the season including playing the Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder (twice) and the Spurs (twice) in six games.
However, the roughest stretch probably will be the finish at the end of the season.
If the Lakers are battling for a playoff berth, as they were last season, they'll have some tough competition in their final six games as they'll have to take on the Clippers, Houston Rockets, Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and the Spurs.
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