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

5. Having a sense of urgency and continuing to play hard through adversity

Over the last few weeks, the Lakers have come out soft in the first quarter of games. Although they had a 34-26 lead over the Clippers on Monday, it was the first time in a long time they had any kind of lead after the first period.

Good, let alone great teams, look to launch themselves strong to start a game and build off that momentum. They also do that to send a message to the other team and try to demoralize them or at least plant a seed of doubt in their mind.

If anything, it’s been a litany of teams that have done that to the Lakers as of late, instead of the other way around.

The purple and gold have also developed a recent habit of not fighting back consistently when they fall behind. How many times in this calendar year have modest five-point leads ballooned into double digits in the blink of an eye?

Even last season when they won 35 games, the Lakers would battle back and make the other team have to kick and scream in order to get the win against them.

When the Lakers fall behind, it’s no time to mope or get down on themselves. Their body language in these situations has been poor, which means that they self-talk and thinking has likely been even worse.

When they won five championships during the Kobe Bryant era, the Lakers would get going when they were up against it in a key game, especially during the playoffs.

Comebacks like the ones they had against Portland in 2000, Sacramento in 2002 and Boston in 2010 not only became the stuff of legend, they also became prime sources of motivation and inspiration for members of Laker Nation.