The Los Angeles Lakers went into the NBA All-Star Break on an extremely sour note. A disappointing 131-119 loss to the lottery-bound Utah Jazz is a pretty dejecting loss for a new-look team trying to figure things out.
Do not get it twisted, the sky is certainly not falling in Los Angeles because of one bad loss. However, this game did offer one very important takeaway about this roster. The Lakers are very clearly not built to withstand injuries.
If Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and company want a legitimate crack at chasing a championship in the 2024-25 NBA season, they had better hope everyone has a clean bill of health when the NBA Playoffs roll around.
Short-handed Lakers struggle to play through key absences
The Lakers came into this game with a huge disadvantage to begin the night. Both Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith were unavailable for the matchup. Those are two key contributors of the Lakers' usual rotation.
Finney-Smith has been an important member of the team since being acquired via trade from the Brooklyn Nets. His averages of 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.9 rebounds will not jump off the stat sheet. However, his 3-and-d impact has been invaluable in several lineup combinations that have worked well for the Lakers.
Vincent has turned it on of late, looking more like the player that Los Angeles hoped he would be when they signed him as a free agent. Since Jan. 15, the former Miami Heat guard has averaged 9.9 points, 2.9 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from 3-point land, plus delivering some strong defensive impact in 24.4 minutes a night.
Starting the night off without those two was already tough. Things got even more difficult when an in-game injury transpired.
Jaxson Hayes left their matchup against the Jazz early due to a facial contusion injury. With Hayes having only played seven minutes, newly-acquired Alex Len was suddenly thrust into an expanded role during his first game with the Lakers. It did not go well.
By the end of the night, one thing was painfully obvious: the Lakers need every single one of their main guys available if they want to be competitive. With a couple of key positions lacking some serious depth, Los Angeles will certainly be hoping for smooth sailing on the injury report in late April, otherwise their chances of still playing basketball in early June will be significantly dampened.