ATLANTA — The Lakers’ four-game road trip, which ended with a disheartening overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, lasted eight days if you count the days they flew out of and back to Los Angeles on the front and back ends of the trip.
But considering they were in Southern California for just a few days after their Nov. 26 road loss to the Phoenix Suns and Nov. 27 road win over the San Antonio Spurs – flying back to L.A. Thanksgiving ahead of their Nov. 29 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder before flying to Salt Lake City the afternoon of Nov. 30 – the trip felt longer.
“It was a two-week road trip, let’s be honest,” coach JJ Redick said Friday night. “It was a two-week road trip.”
And the nature of how the last two weeks have gone for the Lakers added to their road weariness.
The loss to the Hawks was their third straight defeat, including their losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat by a combined 70 points, and their seventh loss in nine games going back to the Nov. 21 home loss to the Orlando Magic, the start of another three-game losing streak.
While Friday’s loss continued their losing streak, they played with significantly more energy and effort compared to their losses earlier in the week.
“Based off the last couple games that we played, Minnesota and Miami, it’s a good bounce back for us,” Anthony Davis said. “Just some of the defensive communication we messed up a little bit [on Friday night]. As far as the carryover, it was better.”
When asked what it’ll take for the Lakers, who won their first three games of the season and were 10-4 before their recent skid, to get back over the hump, LeBron James pointed to the players the team has been without.
Austin Reaves missed the entire road trip because of a bruised left pelvis suffered Nov. 29 against the Thunder.
“With Austin, the movement piece and the thrust, his ability to get in the paint, his ability to, for the most part, make quick decisions,” Redick said. “In some ways, he’s like a connector for our offense, but he’s also a scorer and a playmaker. So you can have connectors that aren’t necessarily players that can do what Austin does in terms of creating offense. He does both. And also, he’s highly competitive and he brings that juice every night.”
Backup center Jaxson Hayes has been sidelined 12 of the last 13 games because of right ankle injuries, and isn’t expected to be reevaluated until this upcoming week.
Christian Wood (offseason left knee surgery) and Jarred Vanderbilt (offseason feet surgery recovery) have yet to play this season. The Lakers announced that Vanderbilt is expected to return in early January. Wood’s status isn’t as clear.
“I don’t know as far as what will get us over the hump,” James said. “We just gotta just not drown. Don’t drown and we’ll be all right.”
Or as Davis put it: “There’s no cavalry. No one [feels] sorry for us. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. Just gotta continue to put our head down and grind and work.”
The Lakers will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at Crytpo.com Arena.
After that, they’ll get a rare four-day break off of games before playing the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in Minneapolis.
“That break, if you call it a break, for three, four days, we have to use that for our minds, for our bodies, for clean up,” Redick said. “It’ll be a good opportunity for us.”
TRAIL BLAZERS AT LAKERS
When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM