Since the Los Angeles Lakers lost LeBron James to a groin injury during the team’s Christmas day win over the NBA champions Golden State Warriors, James’ young teammates have struggled significantly to get wins.

Once a top two seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers have dropped 10 of the last 15 without James and backup point guard Rajon Rondo. Bad losses to the Knicks and Cavaliers have them currently on the outside of the playoff picture.

The 15-game stretch is the longest period of time that James has missed in his career, and the team has been offensively challenged without him. The fast pace style of play they prefer has been slowed down without the future Hall-of-Famer, and the half-court offense has been something out of a pickup game.

While the Lakers are still among the best in the league defensively, their offense and free throw shooting are amongst the worst.

Energy is absent from the players at times and it has cost them easily winnable games. It must be made a point to come out with intensity on both ends of the floor every night in order to win games in an unforgiving conference.

To make matters worse, point guard Lonzo Ball will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a sprained ankle that will force the team to really look themselves in the mirror.

Ball was beginning to prove himself as a leader, taking accountability and being more aggressive on offense. When Ball attacks the basket with purpose, it opens up so much for himself and his teammates.

Kuzma’s game is one of the Laker’s who have been affected by Ball’s absence the most, as he is shooting just 11-for-30 in the short time without him. Kuzma loves to play off-ball and Ball does a great job of taking pressure off him and finding him for open shots.

The return of Rondo is significant for the team in their last few games with James out. Without Ball, he is the only true point guard on the roster and the commanding leader of the team. Rondo can control the tempo at will and set up his teammates for endless looks.

James is likely expected to return Tuesday versus the 76ers and it can not come soon enough.

The player who has suffered the most is guard Josh Hart. Hart was shooting nearly 40 percent on catch and shoot threes, with a frequent rate of open shots. Since, the volume of open shots attempted has dropped quite a bit, as well as his shooting percentage (28 percent).

He has certainly picked up his slack in other ways like rebounding and diving for loose balls, but the NBA is a make or miss league and Hart’s shooting has plummeted.

James has not faced a situation as unique as this one in his career. With one of the hardest remaining schedules in the NBA, the Lakers’ odds of making the playoffs sit squarely on James’ shoulders. Rather than coasting to the playoffs in the Eastern conference and turning on god-mode once he gets there, James’ will have to turn it up a notch, especially defensively if the Lakers want to make it back to the playoffs for the first time in five years.

The Lakers can no doubt turn this season around and give themselves a fighting chance in April, but they will require consistent play and continued growth from their young core.

Although the Lakers are just 5-10 without James, it does not seem like the time to panic, yet.

As it stands right now, nothing is a safe bet when it comes to the future of the NBA’s most storied franchise.