Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

If the news for the Los Angeles Lakers losing Luka Doncic was as bad it could get, then perhaps a glimmer of hope was still possible to see. But now it’s almost futile as Austin Reaves was just diagnosed with a Grade 2 oblique strain on Sat, Apr 4 in Dallas. Reaves suffered the strain after holding his back right side during the first half of the 139-96 blowout loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Reaves played 27 minutes while being the leading scorer with 15 points, while Luka only scored 12 points before exiting with his left hamstring strain. The Lakers are in even more dire straits now without their two leading scorers and assisters.

With five games left in the regular season and the Denver Nuggets only a half-game back of them now, the Purple & Gold are facing a deadly reckoning for a season that started out with such amazing expectations. The burden now falls on 41 year-old LeBron James, who started the season on the bench with a sciatica issue and has missed a smattering of other games due to injury management. With a lack of depth in the guard position, LeBron’s eldest son, Bronny James, might need to step into a more regular role on the roster for the playoffs. Bronny has split his time between being a player mostly used in blowout situations on the active roster to continuing his development as a starter on the G-League South Bay Lakers, who just advanced to the Western Conference Finals of the G-League playoffs. There are other young Lakers players who could see potential playing time if necessary who are playing for the South Bay team in Dalton Knecht, Kobe Bufkin, Nick Smith Jr and Adou Thiero. But the most likely outcome is relying on the available and healthy veterans on the roster such as Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Luke Kennard and DeAndre Ayton. Marcus Smart is currently out with an ankle injury and is not going to return for the next game for Los Angeles against the Dallas Mavericks.

There is now a serious doubt as to whether the Lakers can even make it out of the first round, much less even secure home-court advantage for a first round series. The Nuggets won a thrilling overtime game on their home floor against the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets are still within range of a top-four seed with five games remaining on their schedule. Heck, even the Minnesota Timberwolves are only just four games behind the Purple & Gold for third place, meaning with both teams having five games left, there is a scenario where the Lakers can fall all the way down to sixth place. But holding the head-to-head tiebreaker against the three teams behind them is helpful for L.A. The outlook is dire regardless of whether they have home floor advantage or not. And even if they were to somehow advance past the first round, the second round would have a start date in early May. Doncic could be on the verge of returning by then if he wants to and if the coaching staff/front office thinks it is worth it. As for Reaves, four weeks is the minimum timeframe for his return and playing Russian roulette with an oblique strain usually isn’t a good idea. Neither is it with a hamstring strain.

After seeing what happened to a couple of big stars such as Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton in the playoffs last year and both of those players being out for extended periods of time(Tatum recently returned to the floor, while Haliburton was shut down for the entirety of this season), the Lakers would be wise to play it safe with their two biggest franchise stars in the present and near future. So, this team will go as far as an aged-out LeBron will take them. King James might be a little bit older now, but he still has the potential to be great when it matters in the playoffs. With four championship rings and a load of playoff series wins and clutch performances left and right, LeBron can turn back the clock and provide some magic against some of the brighter stars in the West. Whether it be a first round matchup against one of three familiar foes- the Nuggets, who eliminated the Lakers in back-to-back playoff runs in 2023 and 2024, the Timberwolves, who defeated the Purple & Gold in the first round last year, or the Houston Rockets with Kevin Durant, who LeBron has played in three NBA Finals series and whom James beat when he was on the Heat and Durant was on the Thunder in the 2012 Finals- LeBron will be ready for anything because this could be his last dance.

Whatever happens next is unknown. One thing is for sure- the Lakers will need to have a blessing from basketball heaven in order to have a deep playoff run in the 2026 Western Conference bracket. If things don’t go well without the power duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and any other major injuries occur to a supporting cast player or god forbid LeBron himself, then it will be another depressing first round exit for the Purple & Gold. Fingers crossed that J.J Redick and this coaching staff can navigate this storm well enough to at least have this team go down with a fighting effort. Perhaps the front office can make a surprise acquisition of a key player available in free agency or someone who just retired and could finally play for the team that he was denied the chance to sign with due to fears from the now-deceased NBA commissioner David Stern that the parity in the league would be irrevocably broken. Who knows what could happen in terms of those possibilities? For now, it’s going to be a tough grind for a Lakers team with 50 wins, a playoff berth clinched and two of their best players sidelined with horrific leg injuries.