Winless Lakers sit with Philadelphia 76ers at bottom of standings

At 0-5, the Lakers are at the bottom of the NBA standings.

Only the Philadelphia 76ers have the same winless record in five tries, while the Memphis Grizzlies (5-0), Houston Rockets (5-0) and Golden State Warriors (4-0) are the three perfect franchises through the first eight days of the 2014-15 season.

As poorly as the Lakers have started, they’re only slightly behind the highly touted Cleveland Cavaliers (1-3), whose roster boasts LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

Two of the Lakers’ losses have come against two of the unbeaten squads (Rockets and Warriors). The team has also lost twice to the Phoenix Suns and once to the Clippers, both at 3-2.

On Sunday, the Lakers will host the 1-3 Charlotte Hornets, their first opponent under the .500 line, before another challenging stretch, visiting the Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans (2-2). Returning home won’t be easy, with the San Antonio Spurs (2-1) and Warriors on the schedule at Staples Center.

The difficult November continues with visits to the Dallas Mavericks (3-1), Atlanta Hawks (1-2) and Rockets. The Lakers also host the Toronto Raptors (4-1), Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2), Denver Nuggets (1-3) and Grizzlies.

The combined records, as of Thursday afternoon, for the team’s first 13 opponents (over 17 games) is 36-19 (65.5%).

At some point, the Lakers’ schedule lightens, but December isn’t much of an improvement with 10 of 15 games on the road. The Lakers’ December opponents have a combined 33-28 record (54.1%).

The Lakers face the difficulty of playing in the Western Conference -- 11 of the NBA’s 14 below-.500 teams are in the East.

Only the Washington Wizards (3-1), Chicago Bulls (3-1), Raptors (3-1) and Miami Heat (3-2) have winning records in the East. The Brooklyn Nets are at an even .500 (2-2).

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