3 shocking stats that show LA is nowhere near as good a record heading into 2026
On Tuesday evening, The Los Angeles Lakers continued their losing way with a brutal home loss to the Detroit Pistons with a score of 128-106. Any concerns about the Lakers’ defense were not quelled by this performance, and LeBron James, who scored 17 points on his 41st birthday, didn’t play very well.
Despite the defensive issues, the Lakers are still 20-11 on the season, but now some the statistics have come to light showing that the team isn’t really as good as that record would suggest.
For one thing, the Lakers actually have a negative point differential on the season, having been outscored by 13 points so far in 2025-26, according to Lou Murray of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.
They’ve also seen all 11 of their losses this year come by double digits, including their last three losses by at least 20 points.
Furthermore, Los Angeles is 10-0 in games this season defined by scoring within five points with five minutes or less remaining. One would assume that this score will even out over the course of the year, and some of those close games will stop going the Lakers’ way as things go on.
Overall, the Lakers are still a talented team with plenty of firepower when Austin Reaves is in the lineup, even though they will have to play the next few weeks without him due to injury.
Still, in recent weeks, concerns have begun to surface about the lack of viable perimeter defenders or frontcourt players in Los Angeles, and fans are starting to wonder if Rob Pelinka might have to start thinking about a trade to get things going for this team.
Either way, the Lakers will next take the floor on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies at home. That game is scheduled to begin at 10:30 PM ET.
2025-12-31 16:35:00
