Lakers’ fading fast, now face fight to hold home court

The Lakers didn’t have much of a chance. And it showed quickly.

Los Angeles ran into the Thunder on Tuesday without Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes. That’s essentially four starters and a key big, all sidelined, against the top team in the league.

Result? A 123-87 loss. Not particularly competitive. Not particularly surprising.

It’s now three straight losses for L.A., which not long ago had won 13 of 14 and looked like one of the West’s hottest teams.

Things change fast.

The standings are starting to reflect it, too.

The Lakers were sitting in third just last week. Now they’ve slipped to fourth and aren’t exactly comfortable there.

The Rockets are lurking, and falling to fifth would mean giving up home-court advantage in the first round.

That’s not nothing.

They’re not in danger of dropping to sixth, but the bigger issue might be what’s waiting ahead. Even if they get through Round One, a matchup with the Thunder is staring them down.

And with Doncic and Reaves both dealing with injuries, it’s fair to wonder what version of this team we’ll actually see when the playoffs arrive.

That uncertainty is showing up elsewhere.

The Lakers have plummeted to longshot territory in the title odds. Think 300-to-1 range, depending on where you look.

A week ago, they looked like a team no one wanted to face.

Now? They just look shorthanded.