But what it does mean is the priority for these Lakers between now and the end of the regular season should be on one thing, and one thing only: determining whether any of the talented young players they have on their roster are good enough to become the next face of this franchise.

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“When things are going good, it’s easy for everyone to get along and for people to have fun,” said Luke Walton before the game, in which he received his first career ejection in the first quarter. “But when things get tough and you have injuries and this and that, true character comes out, and what we’re made of. I think we’ll fight our way out of it, but that’s what it’s going to be. It needs to be a fight.”

No matter how much the Lakers fight, though, the playoffs were always an unlikely bar to be reached. But that isn’t a knock on the young talent that’s proliferated on their roster over the past few seasons. Their lottery picks from the last three drafts – Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram – all have plenty of potential, while Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, Jr. have become very effective players in L.A.’s second unit and Ivica Zubac is a potential prospect for the future.

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But when the Lakers played the New York Knicks Sunday night in Los Angeles, it was clear none of their young guys have the same ceiling that Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis possesses. Porzingis, like Russell, is in his second season, but already looks like a potential All-Star this year, and played like it (26 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks) to help lead the Knicks to a win.

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None of the Lakers seem certain to reach that level, though Russell, Randle and Ingram have all shown flashes of what they can become. Russell may have the highest upside of the trio – and, ironically, both the Philadelphia 76ers and Knicks were disappointed when Russell was taken No. 2 overall in 2015 ahead of Jahlil Okafor and Porzingis. Russell may not turn into Porzingis, but he certainly is a better fit for the modern NBA than Okafor, a plodding, offense-only center.

Russell has dealt with knee issues, and may lack the high-end quickness and athleticism to become an elite player at the league’s deepest position. But he’s been promising this season after being freed from former coach Byron Scott’s doghouse, averaging 15.1 points and 4.9 assists entering Monday’s game, and is armed with the three-point shot and pick-and-roll skills to be a very effective floor general for them.

Walton has been showing Randle – a 6-foot-9 power forward with an ability to handle the ball – tape of Golden State Warriors All-Star Draymond Green, and imploring him to bring the same type of energy, effort and ball distribution to the court on a nightly basis. It’s already had an impact, as Randle has improved his numbers across the board, including upping his assist average to over three a night. But his ultimate ceiling as a player will likely be determined by whether a currently broken outside jump shot (he’s 13-for-52 for his career from three-point range, and 3-for-16 this season) can ever improve enough to make him a realistic threat from that range.

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Ingram, on the other hand, is still mostly an enigma. A 6-9 forward with an albatross-like 7-3 wingspan, Ingram is understandably more potential than production as a rail-thin 19-year-old. And while it’s been unfair to see him linked to a steady stream of Kevin Durant comparisons – another rail-thin forward drafted No. 2 overall nine years ago – Ingram seems more likely to be a better ball-handling version of longtime NBA forward Tayshaun Prince. And Prince was a vital cog in the Detroit Pistons machine that made it to six straight Eastern Conference finals last decade, including winning the 2004 NBA title.

But while all three are talented, and both Clarkson and Nance seem to be locks to have long, productive careers, the current assemblage of talent on the Lakers feels destined to be something like what the Utah Jazz have turned into: several high-end starters – including a couple borderline All-Stars in Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert – but no one capable of anchoring a championship contender.

The difference is that the Lakers, unlike the Jazz remain one of the flagship franchises in the sport. And while there have been plenty of missteps in pursuing marquee names in recent years – a list that includes Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant – the combination of a rising young roster and a coach everyone around the league raves about has already returned positive feelings for the franchise.

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But before the Lakers dive into free agency, they would like to believe they have a future star already in-house. Teams don’t take players with the No. 2 pick in back-to-back drafts – plus one with the No. 7 pick the year before that – and think they’ll need to go elsewhere to secure a franchise star or two.

And that is why languishing outside of the playoff race is really a blessing for Los Angeles. No, this season will not end in a playoff berth. It might even end with a poor enough record they may get lucky in the lottery one final time and keep their top-three protected pick by leaping up the draft order to get another blue chip youngster next June.