The Los Angeles Lakers are in a difficult spot. Their short-lived joy from finally winning the draft lottery and landing Luka Doncic evaporated just as fast. Unlike that 2021 debut season, this team’s surprising emergence in the playoff picture was all due to their elite defense. Unfortunately, this success has disappeared just as fast. As of March 20th, the Lakers sit in 4th place in the Western Conference. They’re only three games clear of the No. 7 LA Clippers, who currently occupy the first spot in the play-in tournament. Now with a road trip on the horizon and an especially difficult schedule ahead, the Lakers have an uphill battle.
Their latest defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic, 118-106, just added to the woes for the Lakers. Even with Luka Doncic’s dazzling 21-point first half, he was held to just 11 points in the second half. Looking back on his game, Doncic admitted there’s obvious room for him to grow.
"That's on me. Obviously, I've got to do better, I've got to talk more. I talked in the first half, then just kind of [let my] voice down and I shouldn't do that." – Luka Doncic
LeBron James was a bright light on the court, bouncing back from his last game, though he still finished with a team-worst minus-17 against the Magic. The embarrassing loss only added insult to injury as it marked their ability to take their record to just 3-7 over their last ten games. Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick isn’t hiding from the fact that his program is going through a rough stretch.
The path before the Lakers is fraught with peril. They have seven games remaining in opponent’s arenas, three of which are consecutive away matchups. Their first showdown as a team will be in Indiana. Then, they’ll travel to Chicago, increasing the pressure to cement their seat in the West.
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