Lakers in 18th place overall

The Lakers came into the season with championship expectations but have stumbled along the way.

They’ve had injuries (Steve Nash and Steve Blake), players recovering from injuries (Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and Jordan Hill) and a not-so-smooth coaching change (Mike Brown to Bernie Bickerstaff to Mike D’Antoni).

As they struggle, which they’re presently doing on the road, they’ve fallen out of the top eight in the Western Conference with a record of 6-7.

Overall in the NBA, the Lakers are in 18th place.

The good news for the franchise is that it’s not the only team having problems this season. The Lakers are only one game behind the 11th-place Charlotte Bobcats (6-5). The same Bobcats who won seven games all of last year.

It won’t take much for the Lakers to climb quickly. They’re still only two games behind the seventh-place Brooklyn Nets.

Of course the Lakers are also only two games ahead of the 25th-place New Orleans Hornets (3-8) -- a warning that they better find themselves sooner rather than later.

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You can email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.