Lakers Take Dive in Latest NBA Power Rankings

The Los Angeles Lakers have not had a great start to their week. On Monday, they dropped a game they needed to win to the lowly Brooklyn Nets.

It was a game they should have won if they were healthy or even if they were hobbled, which was the case in that game. The Lakers were without four of their key player for that matchup: Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Dorian Finney-Smith, and LeBron James.

On top of that, the Lakers played flat, and their two best players on the court, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, played horrid.

The Lakers have an uphill battle ahead of them, as they have a demanding and grueling schedule. As they enter those matchups, they fell in ESPN's latest power rankings.

The NBA insiders on ESPN dropped the Lakers from No. 4 to No. 5 this week.

"LeBron James' left groin strain preventing him from closing L.A.'s game in Boston on Saturday was certainly the most high-profile injury affecting the team recently, but hardly the only one. In the Lakers' past five games, Austin Reaves (calf) has missed two, Jaxson Hayes (knee) has missed two, Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle) has missed one, Jordan Goodwin (ankle) has missed three and Rui Hachimura (knee) has missed five. James, sources told ESPN, is expected to be out at least another week as well as Hachimura, according to coach JJ Redick. -- McMenamin"

The Lakers are in the midst of a four-game road trip and have yet to win a game. They sit at 0-2 thus far and could easily go 0-4 as their next game will be against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets.

Not only will those two games be challenging, but they will be shorthanded, and it will be back-to-back. Health will be vital for L.A. moving forward, but that will not be the case in at least their next four games. The good news is they will return home on Sunday to take on the Phoenix Suns for the start of their five-game homestand.

The Lakers have 19 games left in the season and could be without LeBron James for half of them. Others, including Dončić and Reaves, must step up if the Lakers want to stay within the top three in the Western Conference standings.

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