The Lakers still have designs on moving up in the Western Conference, and the narrowest of windows in which to get it done. There are opportunities. The Suns, for example, have an insanely brutal schedule over their last 10 games, and the Lakers do own the tiebreaker against Phoenix. Sacramento is still in reach, and has a harder schedule than LA. But if the Lakers want to make any of this happen - and want to avoid the possibility of dropping to 10th, or even worse, open the door for a red hot Houston Rockets team, tonight's game at home against a moribund Philadelphia 76ers is simply one they should win, and must win. Must, must, must. 

Must. 

And it's those "should win" games where the Lakers have tended to struggle, playing down to the level of competition. 

Can't happen tonight. 

Meanwhile, the Lakers announced that Jalen Hood-Schifino will undergo a procedure to repair a disc issue in his back, and while no timetable was announced, it would certainly figure that he'll miss a good chunk of time, possibly the rest of the year. No impact on the big club... which really is the jumping off point for the conversation. That losing Hood-Schifino makes no difference for their fortunes shines a light on the decision to draft him in the first place over players more capable of playing an NBA role as rookies. 

But that question - did they draft the right guy for THIS year, is a different one than whether Hood-Schifino is a bust. It's waaaaay too early for that. And meanwhile, his stats with South Bay are actually quite good. It's just a shame his season has been so short, both because he's been injured a lot and because the Lakers couldn't send him to the G-League nearly as much as they wanted because of the injury to Gabe Vincent. 

Finally, a great question from a viewer on the YT page: With Cam Reddish back, would it make sense to put him in the starting lineup in order to boost the defense, and bring some scoring to the second unit? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers must win on Friday. There's just no way around it. 

SEGMENT 2: Hood-Schifino needs back surgery, which opens up the debate about drafting him in the first place. 

SEGMENT 3: Would a change in the lineup make sense? 

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