The Los Angeles Lakers started their final playoff push on the wrong foot with a 100-97 upset loss to the lowly Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Rebounding from that heartbreaking loss barely 24 hours later will be doubly harder with Luka Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt out while LeBron James is questionable to play in their Thursday visit at Portland.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers announced that Doncic will sit out the second game of a back-to-back schedule for injury management of his left calf injury, which he sustained on Dec. 25 last year when he was still the face of the Dallas Mavericks.
Vanderbilt is also on load management since returning from a right foot injury that was surgically repaired in the offseason.
James, who drew flak for skipping the 2025 NBA All-Star game, is questionable with left foot injury management.
The 40-year-old James played 38 minutes against the Hornets, delivering 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds with two blocks and one steal.
Doncic played 33 minutes, the most he’s played since he joined the Lakers in the seismic trade which involved former Lakers’ All-Defensive center Anthony Davis.
The 25-year-old Slovenian star is still clearly out of sync and out of shape as he missed 13 of 18 shots and committed a game-high six turnovers. He finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Luka Doncic’s Adjustment Period
It has been rough for Doncic during this adjustment period with the Lakers since the most shocking trade in the NBA history.
Doncic had the NBA All-Star break to wrap things around his head but it did not help him in the Lakers’ second straight loss.
“Obviously, it’s going to take a lot of time,” Doncic said of adjusting with his new team. “Today a lot of rustiness for my part. Starting the game with like four or five turnovers, that can’t happen. So I got to play the basketball the right way.”
Doncic committed five turnovers in the opening quarter but the Lakers still took a 28-21 lead behind James’ leadership and solid contributions from Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith off the bench.
Doncic said he would try to remain aggressive despite his rustiness due to the long layoff. It was only Doncic’s third game with the Lakers since the trade and the Christmas Day injury.
“I’m trying to stay aggressive, do some other things that can help to get a win,” Doncic added.
He was the only player who grabbed double-digit rebounds for the Lakers.
LeBron James’ Injury Management Era
James’ near triple-double while playing the second-most minutes in JJ Redick’s rotation masked the new reality for him and the Lakers moving forward.
“JJ talked about it yesterday. It’s going to be something that we’ve got to manage for the rest of the season and going into the postseason, but I was happy I was able to get some days off and kind of be around the clock and make sure I was available for tonight,” James told reporters after the loss.
So don’t be surprised if he also sits out this road game against the Trail Blazers with a showdown against Nikola Jokic and their playoff foil Denver Nuggets waiting on Saturday.
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