Lakers vs. Pacers Preview and Game Thread: Can L.A. get out of this funk?

The Lakers look to get back in the win column against the Pacers on Wednesday

After losing to the Orlando Magic, the Lakers will continue their road trip by heading to Indiana to face the Pacers. The purple and gold look to snap their losing streak while the home team looks to make it six wins in a row. This is the second and final time both teams will see each other this season.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers

When: 4:30 PDT, Mar 26

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Watch: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet

There’s just no sugarcoating it: the Lakers are in a funk right now.

They’ve looked tired in these last two losses, their defensive coverages have been subpar as of late and they just don’t look like the connected and elite offensive team we saw a month ago.

Perhaps this is because they just got two starters back, and the adjustment phase is going on.

Or maybe since L.A. has faced teams that are big, athletic and young as of late, their weaknesses are getting exposed. Whatever it is, this losing streak simply can’t continue for Los Angeles.

The Lakers will have to play really hard against a streaking Pacers team on Wednesday. If they had a difficult time against the Bulls and Magic, well they have to expect an even tougher task when they take on Indiana.

They’re a really good offensive team led by Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Bennedict Mathurin. And contrary to the last time these two teams saw each other, Myles Turner will suit up for this one.

The key for the Lakers is to match up with Indiana’s offense, and that starts with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves leading the way.

It would be nice to get significant contributions from the role players like Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Dalton Knecht and the rest who haven’t really made their presence felt these last two games.

Then on the other side of the ball, the Lakers have to do something about Siakam, who they’ve had difficulty containing in their last few battles.

Siakam and Turner are the type who can take advantage of the Lakers’ small-ball lineups the way Franz Wagner did in their last game, so it’ll be interesting to see how often JJ Redick goes big or small in this one.

Note that the Pacers are not a good rebounding team, so it’s important that the Lakers win the battle of the boards. The effort on both ends of the floor must be significantly better than in the last two losses if the Lakers want a shot in this one.

Let’s see if the Lakers can get out of this funk they find themselves in on Wednesday against the Pacers.

Notes and Updates

• Because they’ve lost their last three games and the Memphis Grizzlies won on Tuesday, the Lakers are now the fifth seed in the Western Conference. It’s an unfortunate drop considering they were the third seed not more than a week ago. Fortunately for them, there is still time to bounce back and climb the rankings, but that starts with winning some games.
• For the injury report, LeBron James (left groin strain) and Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) are probable, while Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) and Bronny James Jr. (G-League duties) are out.
• As for the Pacers, only Isaiah Jackson (right Achilles tendon tear) is out.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.