Trip will test legitimacy of Lakers

Latest Eastern swing should reveal if they're contenders or pretenders

- THỤC NHI NGUYEN

LEBRON JAMES (23) and the Lakers are 15-5 overall but 4-4 against teams with winning records.

After accounting for five of the Lakers' eight turnovers against the New Orleans Pelicans, Austin Reaves reprimanded himself because some of the mistakes were just him "being bad."

He could have meant it from a purely basketball sense, but it almost sounded like the type of scolding a parent would give their child for playing with their food.

Against losing teams, the Lakers can afford to mess around and still find themselves in the win column. The Phoenix Suns gave them a swift slap on the wrist on Monday, leaving them 15-5 after 20 games.

The Suns loss, which was not as close as the 125-108 final score suggested, was the first of five consecutive games against teams with winning records. This stretch will reveal the truth about where the Lakers stand against teams with legitimate playoff hopes.

The Lakers, currently second in the Western Conference, are 4-4 against teams that entered December with winning records. Two of the four wins -at Minnesota and at home against San Antonio ―were final-possession nail-biters. When it came time to test themselves against the defending champions, the Lakers got steamrolled in Oklahoma City, showing how far they are from the NBA's top tier.

The 29-point loss to the Thunder was a rude awakening for the Lakers, who went 1-2 to start their previous extended trip. Facing another test this week in Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia, the Lakers hope to "redeem ourselves a little bit," center Deandre Ayton said.