Lakers have a rough stretch of road games coming up

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December was a rough month for the Los Angeles Lakers. They went 5-7 during that month and had lots of trouble stopping opponents defensively, especially in transition and off turnovers. But starting with the next-to-last game of December, they have won three of their last four games and shown a bit of improvement on the defensive end.

Now, after playing each of their last five games at Crypto.com Arena and six of their last seven in the Los Angeles area (they had a "road" game on Dec. 20 versus the Los Angeles Clippers), they will be on the road a lot over the next month.

This gauntlet portion of their schedule will begin with a short two-game road trip that includes contests versus the New Orleans Pelicans this Tuesday and the San Antonio Spurs the following evening. After returning home to host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks this Friday, two of L.A.'s following four games will be away from home: Jan. 12 against the Sacramento Kings and Jan. 17 versus the Portland Trail Blazers. Both of those games will be followed by home games the next day.

Then, on Jan. 20, the Lakers will begin an eight-game road trip with a matchup against the Denver Nuggets, a team they have had lots of trouble with over the last three years. That trip will also consist of contests against the Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.

In all, that means 12 of L.A.'s next 16 games will be on the road.

Luckily, the team has done well on the road so far this season with a 12-5 record away from Crypto.com Arena. That is tied with the Spurs for the NBA's second-best road record and just one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder's league-best 13-4 road mark.

After that 16-game stretch, things will even out for the Purple and Gold, as all of their following eight games and 15 of their next 18 will be at home.

You can see their full schedule for this season by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers have a rough stretch of road games coming up

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