The Lakers (24-15) will be on another second night of a back-to-back as they host the Toronto Raptors (25-18) at home on Sunday. This will be the final time they see the Raptors this season.<\/p>\n
Start time and TV schedule<\/p>\n
When: 6:30 p.m. PT, Jan. 18<\/p>\n
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet<\/p>\n
The Lakers just don\u2019t have the juice right now. Their most recent loss to the Trail Blazers<\/a> perfectly depicted that and it doesn\u2019t help that they\u2019re in the midst of one of the most grueling stretches in their schedule. As a result, they\u2019ve lost six out of their last 10 games and have now dropped to the sixth seed of the Western Conference.<\/p>\n There are a lot of obstacles in the purple and gold\u2019s way right now: key players in and out of the lineup, the absence of Austin Reaves<\/a> and the fact that their flaws, especially on the defensive side of the ball, have been more exposed as of late. There\u2019s obviously no solution to this besides getting healthy and a trade, which right now is not in their control.<\/p>\n What the Lakers can control, though, is their effort every game, which they badly need to do if they want stop losing games.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the Lakers are stumbling upon a really good Raptors team, one that\u2019s not going to be easy to play on a back-to-back. This is the best the Raptors have looked in years because Brandon Ingram has been a huge asset, averaging 21.8 points per game. Knowing that he\u2019s playing in Lakers territory on Sunday, it\u2019s fair to expect him to go all out in this one. It helps Ingram that he has reliable role players around him such as Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, who is listed as questionable for this one.<\/p>\n