Lakers injuries deepen
Beyond Dončić, the Lakers were listed without Austin Reaves and others for the Warriors game — and a 123‑87 loss to Oklahoma City extended L.A.’s skid to three games, a stretch The Athletic says has materially dropped their odds. (sports.yahoo.com)(si.com)(nytimes.com)
The Los Angeles Lakers went into Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors missing so many ballhandlers that Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht were suddenly part of the emergency plan, not the bench plan. Luka Dončić was already out, and Austin Reaves was listed out too after a Grade 2 oblique injury that is expected to sideline him four to six weeks. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com) That changed the shape of the team in one week. Dončić’s Grade 2 left hamstring strain had already ruled him out for the rest of the regular season, and Reaves was the second straight high-usage scorer to disappear from the lineup before the playoffs even started. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com) The Lakers then got run off the floor by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-87, on Tuesday, with LeBron James also sitting out for left foot injury management. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points and eight assists, and Isaiah Joe hit six three-pointers against a Los Angeles team that was missing its three biggest creators at once. (espn.com) (sports.yahoo.com) That loss was not just ugly on the scoreboard. It was the Lakers’ third straight defeat, and The Athletic reported on April 9 that their championship odds had blown out to 500-to-1, a number that turns a contender into a lottery-ticket bet. (nytimes.com) The timing is the brutal part. The regular season ends Sunday, April 12, so “out for the rest of the regular season” now means the Lakers are trying to hold playoff position while counting days, not games, on two muscle injuries that usually do not forgive rushed returns. (usatoday.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Reaves’ injury matters because he was not just a third option standing in the corner. He was one of the few Lakers who could start a possession, get into the paint, and keep the offense moving when James sat, which is exactly the job the team now has to replace on the fly. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com) James is still the one name that can keep Los Angeles dangerous, but the Lakers are also managing his workload at age 41 after he logged nearly 40 minutes against Dallas before sitting against Oklahoma City. That leaves head coach JJ Redick trying to win late-season games while protecting the only healthy superstar he has left. (sports.yahoo.com) (nytimes.com) So the story is no longer just “when does Luka Dončić come back.” It is whether the Lakers can get through the next few days without sliding further, because a team that looked dangerous in March is now trying to survive April with its top two non-LeBron scorers in street clothes. (sports.yahoo.com) (nytimes.com)
