Light February schedule offers Lakers a chance to climb in standings

The rebuilding Lakers may be able to near or even hit .500 through the end of January, after a busy three months of play.

February will be the Lakers’ lightest stretch all season, despite six of 10 games played on the road.

Only two of the Lakers’ opponents during that month qualified for the playoffs last year, although the Cleveland Cavaliers are certainly improved with the addition of former Miami Heat all-star LeBron James.

The schedule has the Lakers opening the month with four straight road games, starting in New York on Feb. 1 against the Knicks. After a two-day break, the Lakers then are scheduled to visit the Milwaukee Bucks (Feb. 4), the Orlando Magic (Feb. 6) and the Cavaliers (Feb. 8).

Following a quick stop at home to host the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 10, the Lakers are set to play the next night in Portland against the Trail Blazers -- the second time they play in Portland on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Lakers would then get a lengthy respite for All-Star weekend, eight full days off before returning to action at home against the Brooklyn Nets (Feb. 20) and the Boston Celtics (Feb. 22).

After two days off, the Lakers are scheduled to travel to the Utah Jazz on Feb. 25 before finishing the month at home on Feb. 27 against the Bucks.

The Lakers are to play just 10 games in 28 days, making four appearances on national television (ABC, TNT, ESPN and NBA-TV).

Though some of the opponents are potentially formidable (Cavaliers, Nets, Nuggets, Nets and Knicks), the Lakers have an opportunity to finish February with a winning record -- provided they survive the first few months of the season.

It took the Dallas Mavericks 49 wins to make the playoffs last year. For the Lakers to have significant hope of climbing into that range, they’re going to need to be near .500 heading into February -- and in the neighborhood of three to four games above that level by March.

Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus