Unfortunately for the Lakers, there hasn’t been much positive injury news regarding their two biggest stars, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
Both missed the last five games of the regular season and have been ruled out indefinitely. Reaves is dealing with a Grade 2 oblique strain with a timetable of 4-6 weeks, and Dončić is suffering from a hamstring strain.
While Reaves has remained in LA, focused on returning to the court, Dončić went to Spain for “specialized medical treatment” to speed up his recovery.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has already confirmed the duo will be out to start the playoff series against the Rockets, and a recent article by Dave McMenamin of ESPN indicates that the franchise is moving forward assuming neither will play at any point during this series.
And as they prepare for it, sources told ESPN they have no expectation of having either Doncic or Reaves back at any point in the first round. But they also have not completely ruled out the possibility of one or both of them becoming available the longer the series lasts.
It’s a devastating blow for the Lakers if they have to play an entire playoff series without their two best players. Luka was the NBA’s leading scorer and averaged 33.5 points per game. It’s not just Dončić’s scoring that will be missed, he averaged 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game as well.
Reaves is just as important, averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game during the regular season. The only positive here is that the Lakers have been able to prepare with the understanding that they’ll be playing without their starting backcourt.
For now, they just have to focus on figuring out how to outrebound the Rockets, limit turnovers, win Game 1 and ultimately this series.
And if Reaves or Dončić can make an appearance late in the first round against the Rockets, that’d be a great best-case scenario. Until then, though, they will have to try to extend their season without them.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
