In the span of 48 hours, the Los Angeles Lakers went from one of the hottest teams in the NBA to one in complete flux. Luka Doncic suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and that news was followed by Austin Reaves being diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique injury, suddenly leaving LeBron James as the only player standing from the team’s superstar trio.
The news was obviously a major blow to the Lakers, who were gearing up for a postseason run and now are unsure whether they will have either of their two leading scorers for the playoffs. And James’ reaction to the two injuries was a very relatable one, via Dave McMenamin and Shams Charania of ESPN:
“I took my nap after practice, and I woke up with that news, it was like another shot to the [head],” James said of learning about Reaves’ MRI results Saturday. “It was a shot to the heart, obviously, and to the chest and to the mainframe with Luka. … But we kind of got that news kind of quick, and AR … we knew he was going to get an MRI, but I woke up from my nap yesterday and then saw that news, and I was like, ‘S—.’ That was literally my tone.”
James’ reaction is understandable and not just from a basketball standpoint, but also a personal one as he has developed a close relationship with both Doncic and Reaves. He has been Reaves’ teammate for five years now and the two are extremely close and his relationship with Doncic has grown immensely over the past year as well.
There is still hope that Doncic and Reaves will be able to return at some point in the postseason and the former is already exploring different options in order to make that happen. And James will now have to take on a primary role for this team throughout the rest of the regular season in order to keep the Lakers afloat in hopes of a potential postseason return for his star teammates.
JJ Redick: Lakers must extend the season for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves
The path for the Lakers now is an extremely difficult with both Doncic and Reaves out for the remainder of the regular season and likely the start of the playoffs. But head coach JJ Redick said it is now their job to extend the season in order to give them a chance to return this year.
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