The Los Angeles Lakers spent all of March fighting for seeding, flipping narratives, and proving they were a nightmare matchup for anyone in the West. Now, just five days into April, the third-seeded Lakers are the team everyone wants to see in the playoffs.
Injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves made sure of that.
Lakers’ Stars Devastated by Injuries
April couldn’t be off to a worse start for the Lakers. They suffered a 43-point loss in a measuring stick game against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. But that’s not all.
Doncic exited that game in the third quarter with a left leg injury. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain the next day. He will miss the remainder of the regular season. His availability going into the playoffs is uncertain, but it doesn’t look good.
The playoffs start in 13 days, but the average recovery time for the injury is three to six weeks. At the very least, in hopes of advancing the treatment, Doncic will seek specialized medical treatment in Europe.
Unfortunately, however, the bad news doesn’t stop there.
Following the loss in OKC, Reaves said, “I went back to get a rebound, overextended a little bit, and I felt something.”
Reaves underwent multiple MRI exams and was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
These injuries came at the worst possible time. The Lakers just had their best month of the season, and the playoffs start in less than two weeks.
Dominant March Down the Drain
The Lakers had a 15-2 record throughout March. Thanks to a defense that finally showed improvement and a little Luka magic, they were one of the NBA’s hottest teams all month.
The Lakers’ defense ranked 10th in the league, and Doncic averaged a herculean 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Doncic led the Lakers to back-to-back wins against the Houston Rockets, an overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, and a 14-point win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in that span. All three of those teams have 46 or more wins and are fighting for seeding in the West.
The Lakers took the lead in the race for the third seed and proved to their Western Conference competitors that they were a scary opponent.
They had all the momentum.
Then their two leading scorers got injured.
Lakers’ Long-Term Outlook
The depleted Lakers risk dropping in the standings in their final four games of the regular season. They now sit 0.5 games behind the Nuggets and are just one game ahead of the Rockets. If they fall behind Denver and Houston to the fifth seed, they won’t have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Two of the Lakers’ last four opponents have a winning record. Two of the Nuggets’ last three opponents have a winning record. And three of Rocket’s last four opponents have a winning record.
The Lakers need to capitalize on their favorable schedule; otherwise, they risk falling into an even deeper hole
Five days ago, the Lakers were a scorching team no one wanted to see in a seven-game series.
Now, they’re the matchup everyone should want.
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