The Los Angeles Lakers have really struggled as of late. Despite a solid win over the division rival Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day, the storied franchise is sporting a 12-24 record and have lost all but two games in the month of December.
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Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak recently spoke with Mark Medina of the OC Register about the team and what he thinks of the current struggles the franchise is facing heading into 2017:
“It’s just a matter of finding our mojo again and taking advantage of a more friendly schedule going forward,” Kupchak said. “I wish our record was a little bit better. But I love our young group. It’s going to be fun to watch them grow and develop.”
After bursting out of the gates and splitting the first 20 games under new head coach Luke Walton, there was a lot of optimism surrounding this young Lakers squad. The end of the playoff drought seemed to be a realistic possibly with Walton seemingly having this team bought into his system and philosophy.
Obviously, with only 12 wins on the season thus far, the team has had some difficulties getting back to form. Injuries have taken a toll on this roster with D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Nick Young, Larry Nance Jr., Jose Calderon, and Tarik Black all missing time, but the majority of the squad is now healthy and this team is still having trouble getting back to form.
With the Lakers coming off two straight losses to the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles will try to bounce back during their current homestand on Sunday against the visiting Toronto Raptors.