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The Los Angeles Lakers have been in a bit of a slump as of late. Despite being 19-9 and the 4th seed in the Western Conference, they're 4-5 in December.
This does coincide with some injuries, which makes sense. Of the nine games played in December, the Lakers have been without Austin Reaves for three games and Luka Dončić for three and a half, amid many other role players missing time.
This, along with the obvious deficiencies on the roster, has led the team to where they are now.
More: Here are the two ways the Lakers can fix their biggest issues
Austin Reaves made his return on Tuesday night, coming off the bench against the Suns, who absolutely thrashed LA. It was a decent first showing back, as he scored 17 points on 6/11 shooting.
On Christmas Day, the Lakers are set to take on the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena, and from the sounds of it, they'll be getting their other star back as Luka Dončić is set to make his return.
Luka Dončić is back, but is his return enough?
As previously mentioned, the month of December has not been kind to the Lakers. Not only are they currently below .500 for the month, but it's the way they've looked in these losses that's concerning.
Of the five games they've lost, they've averaged an 18-point deficit in those losses and have had some abysmal shooting nights, shooting below 20% in two of their last four.
We can’t play defense and we can’t shoot 3s
-Lakers now rank 23rd in defense
-Lakers are 28th in 3 point shooting
Not a contender pic.twitter.com/nNKJF9BVpv
Obviously, this is a much different team without Luka Dončić, but are these problems too large for him alone to solve?
The Houston Rockets, while not as good as most expected them to be, are still a problem. They have length, shooting, and depth that will absolutely punish the Lakers on their home court if they're not careful.
Hopefully, for Lakers fans, Luka Dončić's return to the lineup, paired with playing on Christmas, gives the team the jolt needed to break out of this slump and deliver a gift to Los Angeles.
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