Will December make or break the Lakers?

There are losses, and there are losses. While they’re the same word and marker in the standings, one feels so much more crushing than the other.

The Lakers’ defeat at the hands of the Pacers and Andrew Nembhard’s game-winner on Monday night, was one of those losses that bruise. They stay on your arm, they’re ugly and man do they hurt.

Like the adage goes, it was ultimately just one game. But given the context of what’s waiting around the corner this bruise may linger around for awhile. As the calendar turns to December, so will the level of competition for the Lakers. Of the 16 games on the slate this upcoming month — the most of any team during that span — 11 will come against squads currently playoff eligible, and 12 will come on the road.

How the team fares during this upcoming grueling stretch could shape not only their short-term outlook when it comes to seeding, but also, may prove to be deciding factor in the front office deciding to make a trade. If the team struggles and drops further down the standings, the odds of the team parting with their coveted first-round picks will likely be slim.

That said, the argument could also be had that waiting until after this difficult stretch before pulling the trigger is counterproductive given that having more good players would help help against teams chock full of them. Regardless of what transpires in the upcoming weeks, one thing is certain, we will know a lot more about the Lakers’ trajectory by the end of it. This brings us to today’s episode.

On this week’s edition of Talk-O-Tuesday, hosts Alex Padilla and Alex Regla recapped the Lakers’ deflating loss to the Pacers and then previewed the challenges December will present both on and off the court.

The duo also share the team’s latest injury report and whether there is an even more likely trade candidate on the team than Russell Westbrook.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.