Heading into the 2017-18 NBA season, December was going to be an extremely challenging month for the Los Angeles Lakers as they had to face the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors (twice), and Houston Rockets (twice). While the Lakers were competitive in all of those games against the championship contenders, they have lost nine of their last 10 games.

It did not get any easier as Brook Lopez (ankle) and Lonzo Ball (shoulder) suffered injuries that kept them out of head coach Luke Walton's starting lineup. According to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints, both have been cleared to return to practice, but are considered questionable against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 3:

While it remains to be seen when Lopez and Ball will actually return, this is good news for the Lakers. Although Lopez is only shooting 29.7 percent from the three-point line this season, his ability to stretch the floor was missed as Andrew Bogut and Julius Randle started during his absence.

As for Ball, the Lakers desperately missed his abilities to initiate the offense and create for others. While all the talk has mostly been about Ball's poor shooting percentages, his absence showed how much he impacts his teammates beyond the box score.

With the Lakers set to face the Thunder, it will mark the first time Paul George plays in Los Angeles since being linked to them during the offseason.