The Los Angeles Lakers' slump continued on Thursday night with a 118-111 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which ran their losing streak to a season-worst four games. In a vacuum, losing to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference on the second night of a road back-to-back without LeBron James isn't a big deal. But with each successive loss, the Lakers can feel the pressure mounting.
Which is why Anthony Davis, who finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and four assists against the Wolves, said the team is treating their trip to Oklahoma City on Saturday as a "must-win." Here are Davis' extended thoughts:
"It's the NBA season. There's gonna be ups, there's gonna be downs. Right now, we're in that down period with us losing four in a row. Obviously, we know what team we can be, just having that experience from last year, being counted out and going to the Western Conference finals.
"We just gotta get back to winning, it's that simple. Obviously in the NBA season there's gonna be ups and downs, you just gotta continue to fight, continue to play, play hard, play with some effort, some energy. We're treating Saturday as a must-win."
Since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers are 1-6, and have dropped to 10th place in the West at 15-14. Their lone victory during this stretch came over the lowly San Antonio Spurs, who would then go on to beat them a few days later, ending their own 18-game losing streak.
Fatigue and absences have played the biggest role in the Lakers' struggles. As James quipped following the Lakers' loss to the New York Knicks on Monday, "Have you seen Indiana's record since Vegas?" (For what it's worth, the Pacers are 2-5 since the IST championship finale.)
Starting with their IST semi-final against the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 7, the Lakers have played eight games in 15 days, with just one of them coming at home. Meanwhile, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince are the only primary rotation players that have appeared in all seven games since the IST.
On the court, the Lakers' offense has actually ticked slightly upwards during this skid thanks to improved 3-point shooting, but that was from a bottom-third of the league position. Meanwhile, the defense has been slightly worse, though still a top-10 unit. All told, they've probably played better than their record suggests, but that doesn't mean much.
The Lakers need wins, and Davis' urgency is a reminder that they cannot take anything for granted in a deep Western Conference. Especially now that their grasp on a Play-In Tournament position is tenuous, and they have the fourth-hardest remaining schedule in the league.
Following the Lakers' Saturday matchup against the Thunder is a home contest on Christmas Day against the 21-6 Boston Celtics. Los Angeles will then get some much-needed rest until Thursday, Dec. 28, when they will play host to the Charlotte Hornets. Though back-to-back road contests loom to close the calendar year against both the Timberwolves and Pelicans.
