The Los Angeles Lakers squandered an opportunity to climb the Western Conference standings, and they did so in a fashion that has become all too familiar — getting blown out by a great team. The Boston Celtics secured a commanding 111-89 win on Sunday, leaving no doubt by the end.
Stretches of this matchup were indeed competitive. However, the Lakers' shortcomings kept adding up along the way and the final result was the ugly score line the game ended in. For Los Angeles, though, this was a pretty standard way to have one of these contests go.
The Lakers' have a rough track record against great teams in 2025-26. It's one of the main things everyone will immediately look to for validation of skepticism surrounding Los Angeles' legitimate chances of winning a championship this season.
Lakers have to start proving themselves against great competition
Stating the obvious, but once the NBA Playoffs arrive, the Lakers will not get giftwrapped easy matchups against teams like the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz, etc. They will face the best of what the Western Conference has to offer.
If the season ended today, the Lakers would match up against the Houston Rockets in the first round of a four-five series. The Rockets have been incredibly flawed throughout this campaign. Even so, given their lone opportunity to play Los Angeles thus far, Houston pummeled them 119-96 at Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day.
It doesn't have to be the Rockets either. It could be the Minnesota Timberwolves again, it could be the Denver Nuggets, it could even be the San Antonio Spurs. There are plenty of options for potential matchups and none of them look tremendously favorable at the moment.
The Lakers' 34-22 record at this point of the season consists of 23 wins against teams below .500. Beating up on bad teams is never an unwelcomed pattern. However, being 11-14 against teams over .500 is absolutely a stat many in Los Angeles will want to look away from.
It's not just them losing those games. It's them regularly getting diced up that is concerning.
The one thing Lakers fans will cling to for hope is health. The team has not been consistently healthy throughout the campaign, and everyone with rooting interests in this squad is holding their breath for the roster to stay on the right side of the injury report in the second-half stretch.
Perhaps a stroke of luck in that department will allow the Lakers to build the needed chemistry, consistency, and strategy that is necessary to finally look like a genuine contender by year's end. Right now, they are just not there yet.