Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 109-90 loss to the Orlando Magic

December has been exceedingly unkind for the Lakers. They have won only once, never played fully healthy and when their offense took a hit, their problems on defense became that much more glaring.

There is some relief in that they are headed home for the first time in nearly two weeks. But the strength of their opponents might counteract that benefit.

Here are five takeaways from Friday night’s game against the Orlando Magic, a 109-90 loss.

1. The Magic set a franchise record by blocking nine shots in the first quarter against the Lakers. That was a testament to the size advantages they had, which the Lakers haven’t been able to escape for a few games while missing Larry Nance Jr. and Tarik Black as well as starting power forward Julius Randle.

2. In the third quarter, the Lakers switched to a zone defense that helped contain the Magic a little better, but it didn’t last.

3. The Lakers’ defensive rating is 110, the second-worst in the NBA. Only the Portland Trail Blazers allow more points per 100 possessions than the Lakers. Coach Luke Walton has warned often that the progress is slow when it comes to improving defensively.

4. To compound the above statistic is the fact that the Lakers were playing one of the league’s worst offensive teams Friday night. The Magic have the third-worst offensive rating in the league, while the Miami Heat has the seventh worst. Both fared well against the Lakers this week at the end of their brutal road trip.

5. One positive during December has been the emergence of Luol Deng. His impact at the start of the season mostly came in intangible, off-the-court ways as he struggled to adapt to the Lakers’ offense. Now he’s finding his stride. Friday wasn’t his best shooting night, as he made three of eight shots, but he did notch a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. In the three games before that, Deng shot better than 50%.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli