The Lakers have done themselves no favors in the last five days or so, losing games to bottom-of-the-league Houston and play-in rivals Dallas. Both losses were particularly frustrating for differing reasons and certainly made it feel like things were coming crashing down on the Lakers this season.
The important context to note in all of this is that everyone in the play-in race is experiencing these types of losses. Houston also beat the Pelicans after the Lakers, OKC lost to the Raptors and Golden State lost to the Hawks as part of a 3-game losing streak.