-
dave mcmenamin
multiple authors
DALLAS–The team is already in trouble. luka doncic Diagnosed with a left hamstring strain that will sideline him indefinitely Los Angeles Lakers announced it on saturday Austin Reeves Has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury and will be out for the remainder of the regular season.
While the team did not provide a timetable for his return, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that Reeves is expected to be out four to six weeks due to the injury.
Reeves had an MRI of his obliques/rib area on Saturday. He was originally listed as questionable to play against dallas mavericks On Sunday.
marcus smart He was ruled out on Saturday against the Mavs – missing his seventh consecutive game jared vanderbilt Pain in the right calf was considered suspicious in the injury report.
Despite the team being short-staffed, coach JJ Redick said earlier Saturday that the Lakers’ resolve is strong.
“Our mission, it hasn’t changed,” Redick said. “The rest of these guys and my staff, we’re going after the 3-seed and we’re going to try to win a playoff series. And we’ll see what happens with Luka.”
LA (50-27) takes a one-game lead at No. 4 denver nuggetsTwo game lead at number 5 Houston Rockets And a three-game lead at No. 6 minnesota timberwolves While five games remain. The Lakers also have a tiebreaker against all three teams that have already won season series against other teams.
The team announced Friday that Doncic has a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring, an injury that typically takes a month to heal. The Lakers have not provided a timetable for Doncic’s return other than him missing the remainder of the regular season. The first round of the NBA playoffs begins in two weeks.
Reaves made a change to his left side in the first half of the Lakers’ 139–96 loss. oklahoma city thunder On Thursday. He went back to the locker room for evaluation, but returned to the game and finished with a team-high 15 points in 27 minutes.
“I went back to get the rebound, extended a little bit more and I felt something,” Reeves said after the game. “But I’m feeling good right now, so we’ll see.”
Reeves required two MRI exams following the injury, as the wrong area of his body was scanned in the first test.
“I don’t know where the chain of command is with Dallas Imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” Reddick said. “Not from us.”
With Doncic out and Reeves’ status unknown, Redick said L.A. would split the offensive load among a handful of players, Lebron James, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura And deandre ayton.
“I mean, it’s a challenge for us,” James said after practice. “It’s always got to be the next-man-up [mentality]. But there’s no way you can replace that type of impact. So, it’s going to be a collective group. We all have to find a way to do a little more. …but now you have to be even more strict on the things we do. When you lose a special player like him, you can’t make as many mistakes. So we’ve got to figure it out.”
James had shifted to the Lakers’ third option during their recent hot streak, with Doncic and Reeves handling most of the playmaking duties. Over his last seven games, James averaged 15.6 points on 46.3% shooting (25.0% from 3), 7.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists. He averaged only 11.7 field goal attempts in that span, well below his career average of 18.6 per game.
“When your role changes, no matter what the case is, or there is a need for something, you have to change the mindset a little bit [you for] team,” James said when asked how he would mentally prepare for the challenge ahead. “So, definitely the mentality changes a little bit.”
Redick said he planned to expand the rotation in the interim, from nine players to possibly 11 and mentioned kobe buffkin, Nick Smith Jr.. And Dalton Connacht All will join the team in Dallas after playing for the South Bay Lakers in the G League playoffs.
“All hands on deck,” Redick said.
After playing the Mavs on Sunday, the Lakers have to play three consecutive games against teams that will factor into the Western Conference postseason picture – Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Golden State Warriors on thursday phoenix sun on Friday – before the season finale at home the following Sunday utah jazz.
“This team plays really hard…,” James said of Dallas. “They just had a dogfight versus Orlando. We know we’ve got OKC. We’ve got Golden State, who is still fighting. We’ve got Phoenix, who is still fighting. So, it’s still going to be a little tough for us. So, we’ve got to be prepared for that.”
Upon news of Reeves’ injury, DraftKings had Los Angeles at 120–1 to win the NBA Finals and 80–1 to win the Western Conference. Before Friday, the Lakers were 30-1 for the title and 15-1 for the conference, but Doncic’s injury announcement dropped them to 100-1 and 60-1, respectively.
ESPN’s Doug Greenberg contributed to this report.
