Injuries Sideline Doncic, Reaves and Recast Lakers’ Playoff Outlook
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LOS ANGELES ― A 48-hour span in early April upended the Los Angeles Lakers’ late-season momentum, removing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves from the lineup and thrusting LeBron James back to the forefront as the club enters the postseason.
From hot streak to health crisis
Between Feb. 28 and Apr. 1, Los Angeles posted a 16-2 record. During that stretch the offense climbed from 11th to fourth in efficiency, the defense jumped from 24th to ninth, and the team rose from 19th to eighth in three-point accuracy. Signature victories came over the Knicks, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Cavaliers and Rockets.
The surge appeared validated on Mar. 31 when the Lakers routed Cleveland 127-113. Two nights later, everything shifted in Oklahoma City. In an Apr. 2 matchup with the Thunder, Reaves strained his left side in the first quarter, and Doncic exited midway through the third holding his left hamstring. Oklahoma City led 82-51 at halftime and cruised to a blowout win.
Medical reports and roster fallout
An MRI the next day in Dallas revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Doncic, the same leg that cost him four games before the All-Star break. The Lakers, then third in the Western Conference with five games remaining, braced for a four-to-six-week absence.
Reaves’ initial imaging was inconclusive, but a follow-up scan on Apr. 4 showed a Grade 2 oblique strain, carrying the same timetable. With Marcus Smart still sidelined by a right ankle injury, head coach JJ Redick re-allocated touches to Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura and asked trade-deadline acquisition Luke Kennard to handle the ball more often.
Stumbling, then stabilizing
Los Angeles dropped its first two games without its co-stars, falling 134-128 at Dallas on Apr. 5 and suffering another lopsided loss to the Thunder in L.A. on Apr. 7. A heated in-game exchange between Redick and Jarred Vanderbilt underscored the frustration.
A team meeting at a San Francisco hotel the next day reset the tone. The Lakers responded by defeating Golden State 119-103 on Apr. 9, routing Phoenix 101-73 on Apr. 10, and closing the regular season with a 131-107 win over Utah on Apr. 12.
The 3-0 finish delivered a 53-29 record—three wins better than last season—and locked in the No. 4 seed. From Apr. 3-12, the defense improved further while three-point shooting climbed to 41.2 percent.
Looking ahead
The Lakers open their first-round series Saturday against the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Team officials do not anticipate having Doncic or Reaves available at any point in the series, though they have not ruled out a return should the matchup extend.
“We’ve been lost in the woods all year and keep finding our way back,” Redick said earlier this week. “Now we have to do it with this group.”
Source: ESPN
