The Lakers are beginning an unusual road trip in San Antonio that’s a sign of the times.

They play against the Spurs tonight and Friday, and then play two in Memphis, a rarity in a league that almost never schedules teams to play consecutive games against the same opponent in the same arena.

There’s a reason for the change and it’s pretty obvious: COVID-19.

The league wants teams to reduce travel whenever possible and this is a simple solution. The Lakers will go to San Antonio and Memphis only once this season.

It’s a different approach for a league that typically likes to create a little time and space between a team’s appearances in a conference opponent’s city.

The NBA has already shrunk the season from 82 games to 72. The league has released times and dates for only the first 37 games, promising to announce the final 35 at a later date.

As for the Lakers, they’ll try to overcome a slow start that most recently included a home loss Monday to Portland. Anthony Davis scored only 13 points and said after the game he needed to be more aggressive.

The Lakers’ bench was vastly outplayed in the 115-107 loss as Kyle Kuzma cooled down from a strong start and Montrezl Harrell experienced a quiet night.

The Lakers will be without reserve guard Alex Caruso, their top perimeter defensive player, for the foreseeable future because of NBA health and safety protocols relating to COVID-19. Specific details about Caruso were not released, but the league had rules in place if a player tested positive for the coronavirus or was in contact with someone who was positive.