The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves at a crossroads, with decisions to make about what they do in the short and long term.
This prompted criticism for former NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, who pointed out his issues with the Lakers for this season and the near future.
DeMarcus Cousins Breaks Down Lakers’ Biggest Problems Beyond Offense
The Lakers initially got off to a hot start in the 2025-26 campaign. They were 19-7 in the first 26 games of the season, having gone 6-9 in their last 15 games since. What stands out about the Lakers is their offensive potency and defensive inconsistencies. Per Basketball Reference, they are 16th in scoring offense and seventh in offensive rating. However, they are 18th in scoring defense and 26th in defensive rating.
Cousins played 11 seasons in the NBA from 2010 to 2022, earning four All-Star selections while landing on two All-NBA teams. He is now an analyst on FanDuel’s Run It Back podcast, where he explained why he views the Lakers as being in a worse situation than the Knicks.
“I think the Lakers are in a worse situation than the Knicks. And the reason I say that is one, they’re stuck in this place of trying to figure out, what are they, what are they doing currently as a team, and what are they doing moving forward as a team? And it’s a lot of glam questions, as far as you know, who stays, who leaves, what’s great for the organization moving forward, what’s not,” Cousins said.
“Where they are as a team, they’re just horrible defensively. You’re not winning the championship in this league without a top-level defense. So with all those issues on top of the biggest issue, which is just being a part of the Western Conference, I feel like if this team was in the East, they would have a legit chance to come out. But the West being as dominant and as rough as it is this year, it’s just hard for this team to be listed above the Denver’s, the Spurs’, the OKC’s of the world.”
“The Lakers are in a worse situation than the Knicks.”
Boogie Cousins thinks LA has issues that must be addressed for this season and the future, particularly on defense 😬@MichelleDBeadle | @boogiecousins | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/stc5e46aZh
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 19, 2026
It’s an interesting statement for Cousins to make. The Knicks are coming off their best playoff run in the modern era, returning to the Eastern Conference Finals for their first time since 2000. They hope to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, while the Lakers figure out how to make a deep postseason run with their star core of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers do have immediate issues to resolve, whether that means making deadline moves or signing free agents to improve their situation. Nonetheless, they will hope to stay firm in the playoff picture while improving their form on both sides of the ball.
The Lakers have a 25-16 record on the season, holding the sixth spot in the Western Conference standings. They are above the Phoenix Suns by 0.5 games and the Golden State Warriors by two games. However, they are behind the Houston Rockets by 0.5 games and the Minnesota Timberwolves by one game.
The Lakers are on the road for eight consecutive games, with their first three against West squads. They face the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 20 at 10 p.m. ET, the Clippers on Jan. 22 at 10 p.m. ET, and the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
