The Los Angeles Lakers are playing without their two leading scorers, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, as both have been ruled out for an extended period with hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively.
While LeBron James has stepped up in the place of both, and the Lakers remain fourth in the standings, any hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs without either of the two stars feel like a tall task.
Still, Los Angeles is expected to start the postseason without Doncic and Reaves, and regardless of the team’s chances, head coach JJ Redick believes both could return if the Lakers advance past the first round.
Lakers Get Bad News On Playoff Hopes Without Luka Doncic And Austin Reaves
GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 18: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on March 18, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
According to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, sources around the league don’t have high hopes of the Lakers in the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
It’s expected that James will be the leading man for the team, and while he continues to put in historic performances at 41 years old, playing without Doncic and Reaves might be too big a responsibility for the oldest player in the league at this stage of his career.
“I’d love to be able to see LeBron have a vintage series,” a second West executive said. “But I’m afraid the teams that win the play-in might give OKC and San Antonio a better series than the Lakers can give Houston without AR and Luka.”
The Lakers are expected to play the Houston Rockets in the first round, but which team will grab home-court advantage has yet to be decided.
But while it doesn’t bode well for Los Angeles in the playoffs if James is at the helm, they still can’t be ruled out.
“But honestly, the Lakers need LeBron to have a hot shooting series and for the Rockets to have a cold shooting series. That’s possible, and when LeBron gets his 3-pointer going, it opens up the entire game.”
Per the league sources Bontemps and Windhorst interviewed, health remains the biggest key for the Lakers, not only relating to Doncic and Reaves, but also Marcus Smart, who has been on the injury report for their last nine games.
Austin Reaves And Luka Doncic Injury Updates
GettyLuka Dončić sits on the bench alongside teammates as the Los Angeles Lakers deal with injuries to key players ahead of the playoffs.
Doncic remains out with a grade 2 hamstring strain, and Reaves with a grade 2 oblique strain. While the latter was given an initial four to six week return timeline, any potential date for Doncic to get back on the floor remains uncertain.
However, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN, there could be hope that the Slovenian could be back much sooner than originally expected, as a typical timeline for a hamstring strain has proven to be roughly 40 days.
“I was in Crypto.com Arena last night, and I’m hearing Luka could be back around the team as early as next week,” Andrews reported on NBA Today on Wednesday.
Based on the latest comments by Redick, hope remains that the Lakers can get back its two leading scorers in a timely manner.
“JJ Redick says he spoke to Luka Doncic yesterday while he was in Spain and said Doncic is in “relatively good spirits” and is attacking his rehab. He said that it has also been good for Austin Reaves to be around the team while he goes through his initial phase of rehab, too,” Dave McMenamin wrote in a post on X.
For now, though, any hope of the Lakers making it past the first round falls in the hands of James, the oldest player in the NBA.
Los Angeles is currently 51-29 and fourth in the Western Conference standings with just two games to go before the playoffs begin
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