The Lakers Lose to the Mavericks on Christmas, and are Struggling Without Anthony Davis

Coming off one of the season's more frustrating losses Friday at home to Charlotte, the Lakers kicked off a five game road trip with a Christmas Day tilt in Dallas. It started well. It didn't finish that way. An 11-point halftime lead was erased in humiliating fashion, as the Mavericks outscored the Lakers by 30 points in the third quarter. 30. 51-21. That's a one-quarter point differential that hadn't been seen in decades, and it was enough to effectively bury the Lakers.

This despite a great game from LeBron James, who scored an efficient 38 points, took care of the ball, distributed, and so on. The rest of the starting lineup, though, offered nothing. Only two other Lakers players (Westbrook, Reaves) cracked double figures. It was simply not enough support. The Lakers continue to struggle without Anthony Davis, falling to 1-4 since he hurt his foot.

The Lakers struggle to score and struggle to defend without Davis, adn after the Lakers announced that Davis will be out indefinitely, they need to figure out something that works. Darvin Ham is basically throwing any lineup combination he can think of against the wall just to see what sticks - at one point in the fourth, he rolled with five guards on the floor - and while some of his choices are debatable, they all reinforce how unbalanced the roster is.

So what do they do from here?

It's a pickle, that's for sure. And if the season is capable of being saved, the Lakers had better get to saving pretty darn quick.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose in Dallas on Christmas, getting blown out in the third quarter.

SEGMENT 2: What is Darvin thinking with some of these lineups?

SEGMENT 3: How do the Lakers go forward without Anthony Davis?

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