Just last week, JJ Redick’s Los Angeles Lakers appeared poised to achieve their goal of locking up the Western Conference’s third seed behind their resurgent late-season play.
However, after a series of injury misfortunes, the second-year coach is now singing a different tune about his squad’s outlook.
JJ Redick Throws Playoff Seeding ‘Out the Window’ As Injuries Pile Up for Lakers
LA (50-28) dominated in March, going 15-2 to seize control of the No. 3 seed. Luka Dončić was playing career-best basketball, amassing a franchise record 600 points in the month, while LeBron James embraced a complementary role alongside Dončić and Austin Reaves for the betterment of his team in Year 23.
The Lakers were also more engaged on the defensive end, flipping the early-season narrative that they were an iso-centric, offense-heavy unit with little hope of making postseason noise.
Redick and Co.’s progress was abruptly halted over the past few days, though. Major injuries suffered by Dončić (Grade 2 hamstring strain) and Reaves (Grade 2 oblique strain) during Thursday’s 139-96 blowout road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder cut their seasons short.
The star duo joined veteran guard Marcus Smart (ankle) on LA’s injury report, severely depleting the team’s backcourt. The Lakers’ health situation only went from bad to worse on Tuesday, with James being ruled out for their home rematch against OKC due to left foot soreness, sidelining the Purple and Gold’s entire Big 3.
The 22-time All-Star’s setback comes after he was forced to take on a heavier workload in Sunday’s 134-128 road loss to the lottery-bound Dallas Mavericks. James logged 39 minutes en route to a vintage 30-point, 9-rebound, 15-assist stat line.
With his squad missing numerous key players with just four outings remaining, Redick was left with no choice but to concede Tuesday that the third seed may be unattainable.
“Seeding is out the window,” Redick said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
On Saturday, after Luka Doncic’s diagnosis, but before the extent of Austin Reaves’ oblique injury was known, JJ Redick said that the Lakers’ focus was to finish as the No. 3 seed. Tonight, after Reaves’ Grade 2 status and the Dallas loss, Redick said “seeding is out the window.”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 8, 2026
LA entered Tuesday sitting fourth in the West, looking to snap its two-game losing streak. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the third-seeded Denver Nuggets (51-28) and fifth-seeded Houston Rockets (49-29) entered the day on nine-game and six-game winning streaks, respectively, boding poorly for the former’s prospects.
Without Dončić and Reaves’ offensive creation, the Lakers could have little chance of winning a playoff series, regardless of their seeding or opponent.
