Los Angeles Lakers: 5 things they can learn from their inexcusable losses

After looking like a bonafide playoff team in the first two months of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in an extended team-wide funk ever since. But there is much that can be learned from their failures that can be turned into a positive.

After their Christmas Day beatdown of the defending two-time world champion Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers were 20-14 and had won 16 of their last 24 games. In addition to the Warriors, they had beaten other elite or near-elite teams such as Portland and Denver and were on track to make the NBA playoffs for the first time in what seems like forever.

Since then, however, it’s been a slow-motion plane crash.

First, LeBron James injured his groin.

Then, Rajon Rondo sprained a finger on his shooting hand.

Then Kyle Kuzma missed some games.

Then Lonzo Ball, who was finally showing modest signs of improvement, suffered a torn ligament in his ankle.

Then right after LeBron and Rondo returned from their injuries, the Anthony Davis trade saga started.

Motivational speakers and social scientists speak of the compound effect, the concept of how small to medium-sized actions compounded over time may not have a noticeable effect at first, but after a while, will have a major, negative effect.

Such is what has happened to the Lakers of late as inexcusable losses to bad or mediocre teams have come in bunches. After their 113-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, the team they needed to surpass in the Western Conference standings, their hopes of making the 2019 NBA playoffs were, for all intents and purposes, gone.

When major adversity hits like this, all one can do is learn from it and apply that newfound knowledge. The 2018-19 season may be lost for the Lakers, but there’s plenty their players can gain through self-reflection that can serve them well moving forward, no matter what uniform they’ll be wearing next season.