The Los Angeles Lakers ruled Luka Doncic out for a week with a finger sprain and a leg contusion. They are already without LeBron James until mid-November and face a nightmare scenario without their two superstars. Luka was off to an incredible start, where he scored a franchise record 92 points in the first two games. Still, he was battling injuries, and LA had to sit him down for a bit.
The Lakers have four games over the next week, including a rematch with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. They will desperately need Austin Reaves to play like an All-Star to win games. Los Angeles faces a crowded Western Conference where every game will matter, and Luka’s injury absence could put the Lakers behind the eight ball from the jump.
Fans cannot expect the Lakers to be elite without Luka Doncic and LeBron James. They will need everyone to step up, but their questionable depth has already been a problem to start the year. JJ Redick only used nine players in the season opener. With Luka out, their depth is even thinner.
Lakers will struggle without Luka Doncic
Doncic scored 92 of the Lakers' 237 points in the first two games, which is 38.8 percent. Fans know he is a walking top-five offense by himself. Nobody draws the gravity Luka can when he is on a heater.
Everyone’s role gets more complicated with Doncic on the shelf. Hopefully, he only has to miss four games, but the Lakers are not always the most forthcoming with injury information. Fans saw the finger injury early against the Timberwolves on Friday night, but the 26-year-old superstar played through it.
That likely means his leg injury is keeping him out. Fans have seen him deal with calf injuries for multiple years, so this is definitely concerning. The Lakers providing a more definitive update would help, but that is unlikely.
LA has a relatively easy schedule during this stretch. That is the only silver lining. Fans will get to see what Reaves can do as the number one offensive option, but asking him to fill in for Luka is unreasonable. Doncic is one of the best players in the world, and nobody can replicate his production. The Mavs are quickly finding that painful truth out, and the Lakers will too.
Hopefully, this is a minor injury, and Luka Doncic is back in one week. This was certainly not the update Los Angeles Lakers fans wanted on a Sunday afternoon, but they already saw what number 77 can do. The best is still yet to come, so stay tuned. The Lakers may have a rough stretch with him out, but things will quickly pick back up when Luka returns. It just better be soon.