Been busy so far, so hardly had time to watch the games, but been trying to follow Lakers and it's a very poor sight...
I think that after that many games, we can see some patterns in the league and Lakers are hurting due to them.
I think that most teams that do well, are teams with young and hungry players. They will try to play as hard as they can, since with many players out, it's their chance to secure their next contract and get paid 3-4-10x more than they would have.
That's why Memphis played well even without Morant, why Suns, Memphis, Cleveland, Chicago - been playing that well.
On the other hand, that's why Lakers are struggling. What hunger can we see from Melo, Rondo, Dwight, Ariza, Jordan, Collison and others? Even Bron, RW and Davis - though they know they have the spotlight, it's hard to play fro nothing. It's one thing to play for the title, especially for Melo, Collison (that probably would have stayed retired, instead of coming in that way), Jordan - all playing for their first ring and maybe it's their last chance - but to play for a chance to get a spot at a play-in? Can't see where they will get the energy.
Young players simply want it more. So many players suddenly getting a chance they would have never got before and they grab it and try to do their best and it's much easier to bring that energy, defending LeBron, scoring on Davis and so on, than for Melo to defend some no name, to be forced to compete for that loose ball against a guy he never heard of, that is 20 years younger than him...