LeBron James is reserving judgment on the 2023-24 Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers dropped to 3-5 and 0-5 on the road thanks to a 128-94 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at the Toyota Center. Anthony Davis (adductor) was a last-minute scratch, and the Lakers' “energy and effort” — a favorite Ham phrase — was as absent as the star center. They trailed by double-digits in the first quarter for the sixth time in eight games (they're -74 in first quarters this season — the worst margin through eight games in NBA history, per ESPN). The Lakers were outrebounded by the Rockets by 23, outscored by 11 in transition, and surrendered 68 points in the paint. Once again, they lost the second-chance points battle by a landslide (24-3). Off-ball motion was nonexistent.

In addition to AD, Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt remain out for Los Angeles. Rui Hachimura — a lone bright spot in Houston with 24 points — and Taurean Prince have each missed time. Postgame, LeBron — who scored 18 points in 27 minutes — tersely chalked his team's struggles up to reps and body count.

“We can’t build cohesion if we don’t have our unit,” he said. “It’s that simple. We’re very depleted on the injury side.”

“Every day, we have a different lineup, we play with different guys, new guys come in,” said Hachimura. “It's almost like we have a trade every day, you know?”

LeBron was asked if Nov. 8 is too early to offer an “assessment” of his shorthanded squad.

“I don't have an assessment,” he replied.

For now, the Lakers can fairly pin Ls on growing pains, health, and ice-cold 3-point shooting. But that doesn't excuse dispirited basketball, especially early in games. Regardless of who suits up, the Lakers' inadequate intensity level has been easy to assess. Fortunately, the Lakers should have Davis back in the road trip finale against the Phoenix Suns — also the teams' first In-Season Tournament game.

“It’s tough,” said Ham. “We’re juggling different circumstances, guys being in and out of the lineup. But at the end of the day, no one’s gonna feel sorry for you. Especially when you’re a Los Angeles Laker. So, our biggest thing now … is to go into Phoenix on Friday and just be the hardest-working, most competitive, most together team on the floor for 48 minutes.”