To say the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled of late is to state the obvious, but in season full of surprising losses, Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday may have been be the toughest.

The reeling Lakers now head to the Big Apple on the heels of three straight losses to face the New York Knicks on Thursday.

Things are bright around MSG these days with the Knicks sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings after knocking off their new local rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, on Tuesday.

Here are few things to consider ahead of tonight’s game:

The big switch

The Lakers coaching switch from Mike Brown to Mike D’Antoni seemed a little odd if only because of the debacle surrounding Phil Jackson. You would have expected the Lakers to have a plan in place if they were to make a switch and we finally have an answer.

Ric Bucher, an NBC NBA correspondent, wrote the following on Wednesday:

“For those wondering why the Lakers’ coaching change has had no impact on the team’s fortunes, one big reason is according to sources, that an ill Dr. Jerry Buss ordered the firing, posthaste, from his hospital bed, without concern about who might replace him. The move, hasty and unplanned as it might be, was apparently supported by voices outside the organization who thought it would open the door for Phil Jackson to return. But no one in the front office intended to move on Brown that quickly and, thus, no succession plan was in place. They were in full scramble mode.”

Bucher also said that the firing was made at the worst possible time in the schedule for the new hire to succeed.

Clearly that has been the case for D’Antoni, especially when you consider the injuries he has had to deal with as he has had very little practice time to instill his offence and the team has looked discombobulated as a result.

Kobe the “psychopath”

Kobe Bryant sat down with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday and provided some interesting insights into his personality and his team’s misfortune.

“I’ll endure anything to win,” he told Smith. “My body is beat up after every game. … Right now, it’s just figuring out how we want to play.”

That’s a very good point. The Lakers have had very little time together with injuries to Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol. The team’s top stars have rarely shared the floor this season, including the pre-season. They also have a new coach in D’Antoni and they must adjust to a new style after trying to work under a different system with Brown.

Bryant said he is more than a little concerned, labelling himself a “a bit of a psychopath,” in his determination to win.

Walking wounded

The Lakers will once again be without Nash, Gasol and Steve Blake when they face the Knicks.

Pau Gasol did not take part in shoot-around, not playing tonight vs. Knicks. It’ll be the sixth games he’s missed (knee tendinitis). #Lakers

— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) December 13, 2012

On the other end of the floor, the Knicks are healthy with the exception of J.R. Smith.

Knicks are listing J.R. Smith as probable tonight. After all his tweets yesterday, can’t see him not playing.

— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) December 13, 2012