LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 22: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers is introduced before the game against the Chicago Bulls on March 22, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are running out of time to get their once stout defense back to where it was in February.
Los Angeles went 10-2 in the month of February as their raced up the Western Conference standings, now, they’re running in the wrong direction.
Monday night, inside the Kia Center, the Orlando Magic delivered a sobering reminder of where the Lakers stand. Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero sliced through Los Angeles’ defense like a warm knife through butter, torching them for a combined 62 points in a 118-106 Lakers defeat.
It was their third straight loss, their seventh in the last ten games, and perhaps the most alarming sign yet that this team is dangerously close to squandering a season that once held so much promise.
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For all the chatter about getting healthy at the right time, the Lakers are simply getting exposed at the wrong time. LeBron James is back. Luka Dončić is back. Rui Hachimura is back. The Lakers’ full arsenal is available. And yet, their defense has vanished.
“We’ve got to get back to who we are,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game. “Right now, we’re not playing with the kind of defensive identity we need."
Monday’s loss wasn’t as ugly as Saturday’s 146-111 meltdown against the Bulls, but it still left the same bitter aftertaste. The Magic—who hadn’t won at home since February 23—led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter, making the Lakers look lifeless down the stretch.
Dončić did his part, posting 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, but even he admitted the Lakers’ effort was lacking.
"I think we got a little satisfied," Dončić said, referencing the eight-game winning streak the team rattled off between Feb. 20 and March 6. "We can’t afford that."
James added 24 points and eight assists, while Austin Reaves (18 points) and Dorian Finney-Smith (14 points, seven rebounds) chipped in. But it wasn’t enough—not when Wagner (32 points, eight assists) and Banchero (30 points, seven rebounds) dictated the pace with ease.
This is now a team on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the very thing they’ve spent all season trying to avoid: the NBA Play-In Tournament. At 43-28, the Lakers find themselves tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with Memphis. And with only 11 games left, they hold just a three-game cushion over Minnesota and the Clippers, who sit in eighth place. One more losing streak, and suddenly, they could be fighting for their playoff lives—again.
"I think there’s some guys who just look tired," Redick admitted. "That happens over the course of a season, but we need to find a way to sustain our energy."
Tired or not, the Lakers don’t have time to make excuses. They don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves. They have to fix this—and fast.
The road doesn’t get easier from here. They’ll look to snap their skid Wednesday in Indiana before heading to Brooklyn and Toronto. Three more games to find their footing. Three more chances to avoid slipping further into the mess they’re already in.
Because right now, this season is teetering. And if the Lakers don’t course-correct soon, they might find themselves exactly where they don’t want to be—back in the Play-In Tournament for a third straight year, with no one to blame but themselves.
