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Los Angeles Lakers enter make or break part of season

By Kenneth Teape

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 3: Los Angeles Lakers link arms during the national anthem before the game against the Houston Rockets on December 3, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 3: Los Angeles Lakers link arms during the national anthem before the game against the Houston Rockets on December 3, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a make or break portion of their season.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a record of 8-15. They are hanging around near the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture, trailing the eight spot by four games. In a loaded Western Conference, the Lakers cannot afford to fall too far behind in the standings.

They are riding a five-game losing streak and things aren’t going to get any easier. The Lakers are heading into a make or break portion of their season.

The Lakers are in a brutal stretch of games. They are playing 11 out of 12 games against teams that are currently at or above the .500 mark. This stretch started last week against the Golden State Warriors on November 29th. It will go until Christmas Day when the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers will be facing three of the top four teams in the NBA a total of six times. They will play the Warriors three times, the Houston Rockets twice and Cleveland Cavaliers once. Two of those games have already been played.

The Lakers hung tough with the Warriors last week. They gave Golden State all they could handle, forcing the game into overtime before falling short. Brandon Ingram shined, scoring a career-high 32 points.

The game against the Rockets didn’t go as well. Houston ran the Lakers out of the STAPLES Center, losing by 23. A five-point loss to the Denver Nuggets, sans Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap, was sandwiched between the Warriors and Rockets losses.

Things are not going to get any easier for the Lakers. An east coast trip is up next, starting tonight with a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Visits to the Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks and Cavaliers follow.

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After the east coast trip, the Lakers return home for one game against the Warriors before taking on a ridiculous two-game road trip against the Rockets and Warriors.

The Lakers then begin a homestand with visits from the Portland Trail Blazers and Timberwolves. That ends the stretch against teams with at least .500 records, but difficult matchups with the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers close out the homestand.

If the Lakers want to have any shot at a playoff spot, they will need to step up their play in the coming weeks. Things have not gone well thus far, but there is still a chance to turn things around.

Cutting back on the turnovers is a must. A team that is already offensively challenged such as the Lakers cannot be giving away possessions and easy baskets with turnovers. It will not be an easy task with the Lakers playing against so many talented teams.

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Veterans such as Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Corey Brewer and Andrew Bogut will be relied upon to lead this young team. A young team has to grow up eventually. If the Lakers have any plans of making the postseason come late April, this is as good a time as any to mature and grow up.

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