Not having a PG, the Lakers are playing rudderless. I expect a different story when Nash returns. If they signed Fisher instead of letting him go to Dallas, they'd probably be 12-12 or so.
Despite their troubles (and I'm enjoying them immensely), I expect the Lakers to get it together when Nash returns. They'll still have massive problems on the defensive end, but should be a solid half court team with Nash, Gasol and Blake back. If they go 37 and 23 the rest of the year, they'd be at 46 wins and a 7th or so seed.
I still think they're going to be a tough playoff out for any West team besides OKC if everyone is healthy and there's some semblance of teamwork that develops over the season. Not having a functioning PG for 20 games would make any team look shaky, especially one with eight new players.
I'm going to hope that misfortune continues to hit the Lakers and I'm going to relish every loss.