How Good Do the Lakers Need to be During a Brutal December Schedule?

The Lakers have won six of their last eight games, and now head out on the road for their first extended road trip of the season. Six games, five coming against teams currently good enough to qualify for the playoffs, in one form or another (Milwaukee, Washington, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Toronto) and a sixth (Detroit) coming at the end of the trip. This long roadie is just one bit of a brutal December schedule that includes only four home games, over 10,000 miles of travel and a ton of playoff-caliber opponents. While they've made some progress, it'll be a big thing for the Lakers to avoid losing ground to the rest of the conference between now and the new year. So how good is good enough, whether on the trip or for the month more broadly? Is 3-3 enough? 8-8 for December? How far below those marks can the Lakers go without causing too much damage, since they're entering the month four games under .500 at 8-12? Are they capable of playing consistently enough to tread water until things lighten up? Focused enough to win all the winnable games, whether against the Pistons or Charlotte or Washington? Meanwhile, viewers on the Locked On Lakers YouTube page weighed in on Wednesday's LeBron-focused episode on a variety of issues, including on how he might be kept fresh throughout games to have the type of fourth quarter we saw in Wednesday's win. One suggestion: Lighten his load earlier, so he's not worn down. Use Austin Reaves, Russell Westbrook and Lonnie Walker (among others) to run sets and create opportunities, rather than running everything through LeBron. Let him be on the end of some plays, rather than the beginning. Could that make a difference in his play? And who should be in the rotation, now that Darvin Ham's roster is getting close to fully intact? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: The Lakers have a big road trip coming. How good is good enough? SEGMENT 2: Do you believe the Lakers are good enough to make it through the month without losing too much ground? SEGMENT 3: Did the Lakers find a formula Wednesday that works best for LeBron? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! LinkedIn LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON SweatBlock If you or someone you love is experiencing embarrassing sweat or odor try SweatBlock. Save20% with promo code Locked On at sweatblock.com. Also available on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices