Los Angeles Lakers: Team aiming to finish the season on a positive note

Given their recent struggles, the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to earn some wins before the year wraps up.

The Los Angeles Lakers have enjoyed a much stronger campaign compared to last year. However, in being 10 games below .500, the team will be missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year. That mark happens to be a franchise record.

The Lakers have struggled quite a bit of late. Sunday night was perhaps one of their more embarrassing losses of the year, for they lost to the lowly Kings by one point.

Part of the reason the Lakers have lost games like that one is due to a medley of health issues. Forbes’ Gabe Zaldivar recently gave a laundry list of the injuries the team has endured this year. At the end of his piece, he just hopes nothing occurs to Julius Randle down the stretch.

Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation acknowledged that Isaiah Thomas, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball are already on the shelf. Thus, an additional blow would be deflating, to say the least.

Although the Lakers are out of the playoff picture, ending the year on a bright note is all too important. Bill Oram of The Orange County Register imparted why stealing victories carry significance. He argues doing so would not only make them look better headed into the offseason, but it would certainly shift the playoff seeding.

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Every ball club the Lakers play the rest of the way is wrestling for a playoff spot. The purple and gold will face Utah, Minnesota, Houston, and their co-tenants, the Clippers. Therefore, granted the Lakers are out of contention, they can make the lives of these teams tougher.

Doing so will not be a piece of cake, though. Games such as Sunday evening have occurred rather often for Los Angeles in 2017-2018. They have been known to sometimes stoop down to their level of competition.

On that note, head coach Luke Walton understands that his squad will have no chance in the remaining games unless they turn it up a notch. Per Oram, this is precisely what the skipper said on the subject matter.

"“We’re going to have to play a lot better for the remainder of the season. We’ve got some really good teams that are coming to town that are playing for something pretty significant. So we’re going to have to elevate our game a lot or it’s going to be a long six games to end the season.”"

Despite the challenge that is forthcoming, L.A. is fortunate in a particular respect. Out of the final six contests, five of them occur at Staples Center. Tuesday night’s matchup against the Jazz is the final time they will not be in the City of Angels.

Akin to Walton, Kyle Kuzma grasps that the road ahead is not projected to be a smooth one. He likewise realizes that the Lakers will have to showcase the best versions of themselves, according to Hansford.

"“We’ve just got to bring it. That’s the biggest thing. We’re playing all playoff teams and teams fighting for seeding,” Kuzma said. “They’re going to try to come in and pound us, so for us, we just have to fight back and bring our A game.”"

Given that the Lakers continue to be short-handed, they must fight, indeed. Guys like Kuzma are going to have to be cooking to increase the odds of pulling out “W’s.” Otherwise, the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season may not be the prettiest.

Certainly, it is never fun playing without key players. Thomas, Ball, and Ingram each possess the ability to create opportunities for their teammates. Thomas and B.I. are also every bit as capable of creating opportunities for themselves.

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However, due to their injuries, it serves as a reminder to the active Lakers that they must play that much better. Other guys are going to need to make plays to ensure the season ends on a decent note.