The Los Angeles Lakers’ good vibes are giving way to concern about their play after a 118-106 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night dropped them to 3-7 in their last 10 games.

Luka Dončić told reporters after the latest loss that the Lakers “just got a little bit satisfied” with where they were at and “we can’t afford that right now” with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
The problems for the Lakers right now are on both ends of the court. They had the best defensive efficiency in the NBA for more than a month from Jan. 30 through March 6.
Since March 8, when the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak was snapped by the Boston Celtics, they have the eighth-worst defensive rating and rank 24th in offensive rating.

Monday’s loss to the Magic came two days after the Lakers allowed 146 points to the Chicago Bulls. The second half in both games has been a mess for them. The Bulls scored 81 points after the intermission on Saturday. Orlando outscored them 60-46 in the final 24 minutes.

LeBron James is still working his way back after a seven-game absence due to a groin injury. He looked sloppy against the Bulls with more turnovers (five) than assists (four).

Things looked better for James against the Magic with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds in 38 minutes.

As long as Dončić and James are healthy going into the playoffs, the Lakers will have the ability to outscore anyone. They have to figure out ways on defense to slow down opposing teams if they hope to make a deep run.
This 3-7 rut has dropped the Lakers into a tie with the Memphis Grizzlies for fourth in the Western Conference. They are only two games ahead of the Golden State Warriors with 11 games to play.

If the Lakers want to know how they stack up against the best teams in the NBA, they are about to find out with six of their next eight games against teams currently in the playoffs.

This stretch starts on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers and includes games against the Grizzlies, Warriors, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder (twice) during this stretch.