LeBron James makes his return from a groin injury in the loss to the Bulls

On Saturday, the Lakers were finally complete for the first time in weeks, with LeBron James and Rui Hachimura both returning from injuries. However, their careless ball handling and weak defense put them in a hole they couldn’t get out of, leading to a 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

While James’ return after missing two weeks due to a strained left groin and Hachimura’s return after nearly a month off with tendinopathy in his left knee were both welcome, the loss highlighted the difficult position the team faces with only 12 games left in the regular season.

The Lakers (43-27) are currently in fourth place in the Western Conference, just 2½ games behind the second-place Houston Rockets. However, they are also only three games ahead of the seventh-place LA Clippers, who are the top team in the play-in tournament in the West.

“We got 12 games to position ourselves in the postseason,” James said after scoring 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting, along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers against the Bulls. “We pretty much can control our own destiny if we win ball games and not have to be in the play-in.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick has already made it clear that the team’s goal is to secure a spot in the top six, avoiding the play-in tournament and giving them a week of rest and preparation between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, something they’ve had to deal with in three of the last four years.

“I think that’s a good way to look at it. … ground zero,” Redick said. “These next 12 games, you’ve got to re-find your way. It’s a perpetually flowing river that we’ve all of a sudden run into a beaver’s [dam] … and we got to get ready to get the water flowing again.”

Things didn’t go well for Los Angeles against Chicago, especially in the second half, where they were outscored 81-53

“I think our key is going to be the defense,” Hachimura said. “Our defense was awful today. We weren’t locked into our gameplans and everything. We didn’t execute. They were getting everything — 3s, transition, layups, pick-and-roll, whatever. So we just got to, I think, focus on defense.”

All five Bulls starters scored in double figures, with Coby White leading the way with 36 points. Rookie Matas Buzelis scored a season-high 31 points, and Josh Giddey almost had a quadruple-double with 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds, and 8 steals.

While the Lakers’ defense struggled, their offense didn’t perform much better. Luka Doncic scored 29 points in the first half, but finished with just 34 points and 7 turnovers. As a team, the Lakers committed 21 turnovers, which led to 27 points for the Bulls. “I can’t be losing the ball seven times,” Doncic said. “That’s way too many for me.”

However, lingering on the loss to the Bulls won’t help much. Los Angeles needs to shift their focus quickly. The Lakers begin a four-game road trip on Monday against the Orlando Magic, followed by games against Indiana, Chicago, and Memphis.

Eight of their last 12 games are on the road, with three back-to-back sets remaining. Only four of the remaining games are against teams outside of the top eight in either conference.

In addition, just because James and Hachimura are back, it doesn’t mean they are fully healthy.

Hachimura, who scored 5 points on 2-for-6 shooting and grabbed 2 rebounds in 18 minutes against Chicago, will have a 20-24 minute restriction moving forward. He believes his knee is still only “70-80%” recovered. “My knee is going to be like that for a while, I think,” he said.

“I can’t really get back to 100% right away. I got to rest for a long time to get back to normal. But I don’t think we have that, so we just got to maintain and manage it.”

James wasn’t ready to say he was fully recovered from his groin injury either. “I just take it day by day,” he said. “I hope it’s behind [me], but I don’t want to go too far in the future.”

For a team that has embraced competition this season under first-year coach Redick, how they respond to nightly challenges over the next three weeks will largely decide how successful their season will be.

“I think we’re in a great spot,” Doncic said. “Obviously, today wasn’t a good game for us, but I think we’re in a great spot. We’ve got to play hard every game to try not to get in the play-in and try to get the highest seed we can.”