When LeBron James returned on Saturday from his groin injury that forced him to miss seven games, Lakers fans were excited to get their team back in full healthy for the final stretch of the regular season. It seemed like a prime opportunity to go on a run before the playoffs and clinch home-court advantage.
Things, however, didn't work out that way. The Lakers suffered an embarrassing 31-point loss to the Bulls over the weekend, then went to Orlando on Monday and allowed their poor offense to put up 118 points. After three straight losses, the Lakers are now 43-28 for the season and sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Head coach JJ Redick wasn't happy with his team's performance against the Magic. Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Redick admitted that his team is "going through it a little bit."
JJ Redick: “We’re going through it a little bit”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 25, 2025
JJ Redick Comments on Lakers' Recent Slump
Redick admitted that the Lakers are looking tired out there. He said he wasn't sure what contributed to that but made the guess that it might be related to the schedule and the extra load the team had to carry due to injuries. He pointed out that they weren't able to sustain the level of intensity they had to start the game.
"We’re going through it a little bit. We gotta get back into the flow and the rhythm. Those guys, I think it’s not just them getting back into their flow, but it’s the group and how the group functions."JJ Redick
Considering that the Lakers had a two-point lead at halftime but were down 14 points at the end of the third quarter, Redick clearly has a point.
The defense that looked surprisingly impressive after the trade deadline has taken a nosedive in recent weeks. The Lakers have another set of back-to-back games on the road against the Pacers and the Bulls starting on Wednesday. The recent losing streak turned those games into must-win occasions. Otherwise, with only three games ahead of the Play-In Tournament and a brutal schedule down the stretch (two games against OKC, two games against the Rockets), things could start to get ugly for the Lakers.