The Los Angeles Lakers may sit comfortably at 19-9 and hold the 4th seed in the Western Conference, but don’t let the record fool you-December has been anything but smooth sailing. They’ve gone 4-5 this month, and while injuries have certainly played a role, the issues run deeper than just who’s been available.
Let’s start with the obvious: the Lakers have been without key pieces during this stretch. Austin Reaves missed three games, and Luka Dončić has been sidelined for three and a half.
Add in various role players also missing time, and it’s no surprise the team has struggled to find rhythm. But even with that context, the on-court product has looked flat-especially in the losses.
Reaves made his return Tuesday night against the Suns, coming off the bench and putting up a respectable 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. It was a solid outing, but the game itself was a blowout, with Phoenix running LA out of the gym. The Lakers didn’t just lose-they got dominated.
And now, all eyes turn to Christmas Day, when the Lakers host the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena. The good news?
Luka Dončić is expected back in the lineup. That’s a major boost-no question.
But the bigger question lingers: is Luka’s return enough to fix what’s been broken?
Because here’s the reality-this team hasn’t just been losing, they’ve been getting outplayed in the worst ways. In their five December losses, the Lakers have lost by an average of 18 points.
That’s not just bad luck or missing a couple shots. That’s systemic.
Two of their last four games have seen them shoot under 20% from three-point range. That’s not just cold shooting-that’s ice age level.
And the numbers back up the eye test. The Lakers currently rank 23rd in defensive rating and sit near the bottom of the league in three-point shooting at 28th.
That’s a brutal combo in today’s NBA, where spacing and defensive versatility are essential to any contender’s DNA.
So yes, getting Luka Dončić back is a big deal. He’s a game-changer-an elite shot creator, a floor general, and someone who can lift the offense out of the mud. But even a superstar like Luka can only do so much if the team around him isn’t executing.
And the Rockets? They’re no pushover. They’ve underperformed expectations, sure, but they’ve got length, shooting, and depth-exactly the kind of profile that can give the Lakers fits, especially if LA continues to struggle defending the perimeter and knocking down open looks.
Christmas games are always a spotlight moment in the NBA calendar, and the Lakers have a chance to right the ship on a national stage. But if they’re going to snap out of this slump, it’s going to take more than just Luka returning. It’s going to take sharper execution, better effort on the defensive end, and someone-anyone-knocking down a few threes.
The Lakers don’t need to be perfect on Christmas. But they do need to look like a team that still believes it can contend. Because right now, they’re looking more like a group searching for answers than one ready to make a run.