Lakers must fix Austin Reaves-LeBron James on-court issues or risk season-long struggles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Lakers enter Wednesday’s quarterfinal nearly fully healthy while a major Spurs injury update shapes the matchup.

The LA Lakers are currently tied for second place in the Western Conference, but they are certainly not without flaws.

The Lakers are 4-4 against teams that began December with winning records, making some wonder if they are as good as their overall record.

The Los Angeles Lakers face the Boston Celtics on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 (12/5/25) at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

The Lakers fell in the latest USA TODAY Sports power rankings, moving from second to sixth in Week 3. The Lakers had previously started the season ranked 11th.

The Lakers' only tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) is not valued around the league, spelling bad news for any Lakers trade plans.

Trust the team's depth of ball handling guards to run past the Lakers — and the Spurs executed that, with a ridiculous 188.9 net rating in transition (stat via Cleaning the Glass). "I think our pace was great from the start of the game kind of opened up the court for us,