The Los Angeles Lakers entered the season with a lot of hype. They have one of the most talked-about rookies in maybe a decade in Lonzo Ball, the hailed “steal of the 2017 NBA draft” in Kyle Kuzma who showed a ton of promise during the Summer League, and another heralded youngster, Brandon Ingram, who's arguably the most gifted scorer in the team. Heck, Julius Randle and his inconsistent play deserves a mention too.

Now, 44 games in, though flashes of what the future could be are being seen, head coach Luke Walton and his men are still looking like the mediocre squad critics have been anticipating. The struggle to find a rhythm and make smart decisions in crucial situations are quite visible.

Last night, the Lakers took another loss. They bowed to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 114-90, for their second-straight defeat. It was another setback from the encouraging four-game winning streak they had built prior. They are now 15-29, 13th in the Western Conference standings.

Walton spoke about his team's effort after the game, and he sounded like he was itching to call the Lakers soft.

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“We weren’t tough. They beat us up. No matter how hard you play, we didn’t play well tonight, but if you’re physically going to get beat like we did, the way Adams was doing whatever he wanted out there on the floor, we’re not really giving ourselves a chance to win that game.

“We’ve got to realize when you play certain teams, like Memphis two nights ago, OKC, Minnesota, these are big, strong men. We’ve got to be ready to fight. Unfortunately, we weren’t tonight. … I’m not sure what it is.”

Toughness is among the many areas that the Lakers are being too unpredictable, particularly down low. Though ranking inside the top three in rebounds (46.3), Luke Walton's troops also allow the most blocks (5.8) and third-worst rebounds (45.6) per game in the league.