Struggling Los Angeles Lakers should see turnaround with full rotation and upcoming schedule
Along with Lonzo Ball returning to the lineup, will a lighter January schedule bring some wins to the struggling Los Angeles Lakers?
There’s no doubt at all that the Los Angeles Lakers, currently losers of eight straight games and coming off a 3-11 December, are playing their worst basketball of the season. This slide has seen them fall to last place in the Western Conference, as their slim playoff hopes ended very quickly.
It wasn’t pretty at times either, especially recently. They have lost four of their last six by at least 16 points, underwent a team meeting to air grievances last week and Kyle Kuzma voiced his displeasure after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder by 37 on Jan. 3.
The Lakers were expected to have their rough moments with their young roster, and this stretch of games was going to make it tough to pile up wins given the difficulty of the schedule.
Twelve of their last 17 games have been against current playoff teams, including facing the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors three times, Houston Rockets twice and Minnesota Timberwolves twice,
The Lakers were only favored in one of those 17 games, when they hosted the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 27. So, I’m not surprised that this team has lost this many games, and injuries to two starters didn’t help their chances.
It’s not like all of their games were blowouts during their terrible December. They lost three overtime games, including the NBA’s first double OT game of the season in a 148-142 loss to Houston on Dec. 31.
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Despite Brook Lopez playing some of the worst basketball of his decade-long career, the Lakers have gone 1-9 in the games since he was injured on Dec. 18. Lopez returned against OKC off the bench, and will hopefully get back into the starting lineup, moving Kuzma back to the bench and balancing the rotation.
The Lakers have struggled to score since Lonzo Ball suffered a shoulder strain, losing all seven games and failing to score 100 points three times. I’ve chronicled their late-game hardships without him before, but Ball is expected to return in the coming games after getting in a full practice on Jan. 4.
Getting back to full strength, especially Lonzo, should address the uneasiness currently with the Lakers. Combine this with an easier slate of games starting Jan. 5, and I’m expecting them to rip off a few wins, or get back to being competitive and staying close each night.
Eight of their next 13 games are against teams outside of the playoffs as of Jan. 4, with only one road game against a playoff team. It’s reasonable to see the Lakers, if at full strength, finish this 13-game stretch with a positive winning-loss record.
When I first noticed this part of the schedule, the Lakers were hovering between 5-6 games behind the 8-seed for the West and this was a chance to make a small postseason push, but they’re currently eight games back with seven teams to hop over.
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Regardless of their dwindling postseason chances, expect to see the Los Angeles Lakers play some winning basketball with their team returning to health and the schedule easing up. This will play a part in determining how active the Lakers choose to be around the trade deadline.