Luke Walton: Lakers Fans 'Deserve Better' After Blowout Loss vs. Thunder

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton told reporters fans "deserve better" after the Oklahoma City Thunder left Staples Center with a 133-96 win on Wednesday night.

"Our fans deserve better than that and our organization deserves better than that," Walton said, according to Southern California News Group's Bill Oram.

"This is something we will fix," he added, per ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk. "We are not going to feel sorry for ourselves."

Following Wednesday's defeat, the Lakers are now a Western-Conference worst 11-26 and own just one more win than the Atlanta Hawks. They've lost eight straight and 11 of their last 12 games overall.

The last six losses have come without rookie Lonzo Ball (sprained left shoulder) in the lineup.

However, the Lakers did receive a bit of good news on Wednesday. According to Lakers.com's Kevin Ding, Ball said his shoulder is improving and that he's hoping to play Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.

That would be a big lift for L.A., especially on defense.

The Lakers have surrendered 103.7 points per 100 possessions with Ball on the floor, according to NBA.com's lineup data. But when Ball has been on the bench, that mark has ballooned to 109.2.

That's the difference between the league's seventh-ranked defense and its 29th.

And after the Thunder picked the Purple and Gold apart on Wednesday, Ball can't come back soon enough as the Lakers try to scrape together a few wins and stem the tide.