Dončić and Reaves go down, LeBron left as Lakers sole 1st Option

This week was as disastrous as it could be for the Lakers as stars Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves both went down with injuries sidelining them for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. During a blowout loss on Thursday night to the reigning NBA champion, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dončić suffered a grade 2 hamstring strain that has him out indefinitely. Reaves was also injured during the same game and he is expected to be out for four to six weeks with an oblique strain.

This has been an absolute gut punch to the Lakers as they’ve been gearing up for a deep playoff run. They have been on fire as of late with Dončić scoring 40 points for six straight games. Lakers Head Coach, JJ Redick received immediate criticism from fans due to the “absolute malpractice” treatment of Dončić. Fans claim he should’ve been taken out at halftime when the team was down by 31 reports suggesting Dončić had been dealing with hamstring discomfort early in the game, raising questions about whether he should have returned to the game. Redick defended the decision, stating that medical staff cleared him to continue, though fans have disputed that.

Los Angeles has already clinched a playoff spot and currently holds the third seed in the Western Conference. Although they are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, they can still slip in the playoff seedings as the Nuggets are right behind them in the fourth seed with a similar record. With their two primary scorers sidelined, the burden now shifts heavily to a 41-year-old LeBron James to lead the squad. In his 23rd season, James is averaging 20.6 points per game over 56 games played. The last time he was tasked to carry a superstar-less team into a playoff run was in 2018, when James famously led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals after losing Kyrie Irving via trade in the offseason and Kevin Love going down with an injury. The 2018 NBA season is one of the many highlights of James’ storied career.

Alongside James, the Lakers have a crop of young and veteran players like Dalton Knecht, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and DeAndre Ayton that will get much more playing time than they did before. They’ve held important role players positions but now will be asked for much more. Teams that lose their stars before playoff time usually collapse due to role players not being able to step up. In order for that to not be the case, the rest will have to perform. The question now is not whether the Lakers can survive, but whether LeBron James can once again turn survival into greatness.