Saturday's 105-90 loss to the Trail Blazers felt, frankly, like a danger point for the Lakers. The result itself was fairly predictable. The Lakers haven't been playing well, and that's before you factor the difficulty to win in Portland under the best of circumstances, much less a scenario where you're missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis (who bowed out early with a stomach ailment), plus the other absent supporting cast folks. Throw in Damian Lillard itching to bust out of a slump and the L felt inevitable.

However, what makes this night potentially worrisome was the Lakers' body language during and after the game. For the most part, they played like a team that quickly assessed itself as dead men walking, so why bother competing? Players castigated themselves for a lack of effort, and it's very early in the season to see a team this dispirited, which makes it easy to wonder about what comes next. Whispers of Frank Vogel's job in jeopardy? Internal finger pointing? The inevitable media noise? And of course, a lot of attention directed at Russell Westbrook, who had one of his worst games as a pro, much less a Laker, and expressed frustration at his struggles to fit in. (Struggles the whole world predicted, by the way.)

But could a game against a scuffling Charlotte Hornets on the second end of a road back-to-back be the ticket for what ails them? We preview the game with Walker Mehl from Locked on Hornets and ESPN Charlotte.

Hosts; Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Reaction to the game, and players heavily criticizing their effort.

SEGMENT 2: Are we about to hear a lot of noise surrounding the Lakers?

SEGMENT 3: Hornets-Lakers preview with Walker Mehl.

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