No. 4: Nine-game losing streak
One of the things that even the great teams face at some point in time is losing streaks and the Lakers are no exception to that. From December 22, 2017-January 5, 2018, the Los Angeles Lakers lost nine straight games. That fell one game short of tying their franchise record for consecutive losses.
The losing streak was highlighted by two heartbreaking losses, one to the Portland Trail Blazers by three and a double overtime time loss to the Houston Rockets.
During this losing streak, a lot of people were questioning whether or not the constant talk of the Lakers adding two max free agents to the team was affecting the young players. Some people would go as far as to suggest that a coaching change was needed.
The biggest takeaway from this losing streak was the defensive. The Lakers gave up a whopping 118 points per game during this losing streak. Considering that before the season started the Lakers put the defense at the top of their priority list, this was definitely a step in the wrong direction.
This losing streak would be just the start of yet another lowlight of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers.