Lakers news: Dallas loss, Nets trade early report card, possible Hornets postponement

The NBA's Western Conference is what the kids would call a hot mess right now. The Oklahoma City Thunder are running away with it in the midst of their 15-game winning streak, while the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies have surprised most experts by rising to the 2- and 3-seed, respectively. After that it's anyone's game, as just four games separate the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets from the Phoenix Suns, who currently reside in 12th.

The Los Angeles Lakers are right in the middle of that mess at 20-16, and with the standings being so tight at the moment, one hot or cold streak could drastically swing their fortunes. Everyone is jockeying for positioning with just over a month until the All-Star break, so let's check in on our favorite purple and gold hoopers to see what's happening.

The Lakers played their worst game of the season in losing to the Mavs on Tuesday night

It's been a while since the Lakers have really been blown out, but there's no denying that they suffered their share of lopsided defeats in the early part of the season. At least in those games, though, they got beat down by the likes of Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant. There's not as much shame in that.

No road game in the NBA is easy, but Tuesday night's trip to Dallas was supposed to be a check in the win column because the Mavs were without both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Despite being severely undermanned, Jason Kidd's club pulled away in the second half to win by 21, with PJ Washington and Quentin Grimes both outscoring everyone on L.A.'s roster.

The Lakers played the Rockets tough in a close loss on Sunday, but this game showed the meaningless of moral victories. Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves combined to shoot just 12-32 from the floor, and the only Laker with a positive plus/minus was Dorian Finney-Smith with a measly +3.

The Lakers have now lost two straight, and this game needs to serve as a gut check and a reminder that there are no gimmes in this league. That reminder should serve them well with the Hornets, Nets and Wizards on the schedule in the next two weeks.

Checking in on the Dorian Finney-Smith trade

It's a bit early to judge Rob Pelinka for his latest move, but Lakers fans have never been much for patience.

Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton are now in L.A., while D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks now reside in Brooklyn.

Let's keep things simple by distilling this trade down to the two pieces that matter as far as the Lakers are concerned: Finney-Smith and Russell. Lakers haters were ready to skewer Pelinka for blowing it when Russell scored 22 and dished out eight assists in his Brooklyn re-debut, while Finney-Smith played 24 minutes but barely factored into the Lakers' 114-106 win over the Blazers.

If both players get equal playing time, Russell is almost always going to have a more impressive stat line, but the Lakers made this trade because Finney-Smith is better able to give them what they need, which is defense and corner shooting. In that respect, his 7-13 performance from three in the three games since has been just what the doctor ordered, even if the team has lost two of those three games.

Russell has tailed off with 16 total points on a dismal 4-of-15 shooting in his two other Nets games, but I would encourage Lakers fans not to get too high or too low on the deal based on what Russell does or doesn't do in Brooklyn. The Lakers knew what Russell was, and they deemed him no longer a fit for what JJ Redick is trying to accomplish. All that matters is how Finney-Smith fits in, and so far, the answer is pretty well. He's even seen his minutes tick up to an average of 27 in his last two games, up from 23.5 in his first two.

Hornets-Lakers on Thursday could be postponed by California wildfires

The Lakers are scheduled to play the Hornets at home on Thursday, but the California wildfires may changed that. Thousands in the surrounding area have already had to evacuate their homes in response to the widespread blaze and accompanying state of emergency, and Wednesday night's NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames, which was scheduled to be played in Crypto.com Arena, has already been postponed.

It's fair to wonder if the Lakers were distracted by the devastation caused to their city in Tuesday's loss to the Mavs, but there are much more important issues at play here as so many people have lost their homes. JJ Redick spoke after the game on Tuesday, saying that his family and his wife's family are among those that have had to evacuate.

NBA spokesperson Mike Bass released the following statement on Wednesday: “We are in communication with the Lakers and Hornets and continue to closely monitor the situation to determine if any scheduling adjustments are necessary related to tomorrow night’s game.”