LOS ANGELES -- Following the Lakers' 103-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on New Year's Day, Kobe Bryant had a simple answer for what has been plaguing 15-16 L.A. this season: age.

"Cause we're old as s---," said the 34-year-old Bryant when asked why a lack of energy has been a problem for the Lakers all season. "What do you want? We just got to figure out how to play when we don't have that energy. We got to change things up a little bit defensively. We got to figure out what we want to do offensively, figure out what we want to do on nights when we don't have those legs or have that energy."

The 76ers beat the Lakers primarily with the contributions of 22-year-old Jrue Holiday (26 points, 10 assists) and 24-year-old Evan Turner (22 points, 13 rebounds).

"You just saw an old damn team," Bryant continued. "I don't know how else to put it to you. We're just slow. You saw a team over there that was just younger and just had fresher legs and just played with more energy, and we were just stuck in the mud. I think individually we all have to figure out how to get ourselves ready each and every game to have a high level of energy. That's all that is."

While saddled by such circumstances, Bryant's belief that the Lakers can make the playoffs and compete for a championship remains unshaken.

"I don't think there's a doubt about that," he told ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd on Wednesday when asked if the team is built for the playoffs. "The problem is we've dug ourselves such a deep hole we got to do a lot of fighting just to catch up and get in that conversation. We firmly believe it's going to happen but we have to do a lot of fighting just to get there."