The Los Angeles Lakers had the worst possible weekend as Austin Reaves was ruled out for four to six weeks with a left oblique injury. He was also injured in the Lakers' blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. Head coach JJ Redick saw him clearly in discomfort, but left him in the game just like Luka Doncic. Now, it has become a true nightmare scenario for LA.
First, Luka was ruled out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, and now Reaves joins him on the sidelines. The playoffs are two weeks away, and both players are likely sidelined for a month-plus. Both injuries are notoriously easy to reinjure, which puts the Lakers in a difficult spot. They can’t risk Luka’s long-term health if he’s not 100 percent.
The news is deflating because the Lakers had won 16 of 18 and looked like a legit title threat going into Thursday’s showdown against the defending champs. It was LA’s shot to get a statement win, but instead it turned into their worst nightmare from virtually the opening tipoff.
Austin Reaves is out for the season with an oblique injury
Reaves being out four to six weeks means he would miss the entire first round of the playoffs. The Lakers are still holding onto the third seed in the Western Conference, but are just 0.5 games ahead of the Nuggets. Los Angeles has the tiebreaker. Holding on without their two best players won’t be easy.
The Lakers will face the Rockets or Timberwolves in the opening round of the playoffs without Luka and AR. Winning that series would be a massive upset for the purple and gold. LA was not the deepest team when healthy. Now, their two best offensive players are out. The Lakers have serious ball-handling concerns and were never known for their defense. Their goal is to win that series, but it is unlikely to happen.
Reaves was clearly injured in the first half against the Thunder, just like Luka. Coach Redick foolishly kept him in the game. He was clearly injured, and the Lakers were down 31 points at the half. They weren’t coming back. Nobody expected AR’s injury to be this severe, but the coach should have pulled him earlier.
The Lakers' championship hopes have ridden like a roller coaster this season. They looked like a formidable title contender early in the season without LeBron James. Then, LA’s chances were written off midseason as the three stars struggled to get on the floor and mesh. Things shifted when they got healthy. The purple and gold were one of the hottest teams in March and looked like a legit threat again. Sadly, things went up in smoke in Oklahoma City in a fashion nobody saw coming.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for the rest of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. Both players suffered serious injuries against the Thunder and are out for the next month. It crushed the Lakers' playoff hopes and immediately shifted the pressure to improving their roster this summer. They need to build around Luka and keep AR. Hopefully, significant improvements will be made, but only time will tell.