The Los Angeles Lakers have a depleted rotation entering Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
With the postseason right around the corner, Los Angeles is facing an unfortunate, compounding late-season injury crisis.
How Injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves Impact the Lakers’ Playoff Push
Los Angeles sits at 50-27 and is desperately trying to hold on to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Instead of fine-tuning their schemes for a playoff run, the team suddenly finds itself trying to find enough healthy bodies to put on the floor at the American Airlines Center on Sunday.
According to the latest injury report, Marcus Smart is out for his seventh consecutive game due to a severe right ankle contusion. Jarred Vanderbilt is listed as questionable with right calf soreness. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are out for the remainder of the regular season and potentially beyond.
Both Dončić and Reaves suffered injuries during Thursday’s 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Slovenian is sidelined with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, marking his second significant hamstring issue of the year.
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Meanwhile, after an imaging blunder, Reaves underwent another MRI on Saturday that confirmed a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury.
The Lakers were hoping to enter the playoffs as championship contenders, but these significant injuries change everything. Dončić has been the league’s leading scorer, averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Reaves’ latest injury derails what had been a spectacular individual campaign, averaging 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game on 49.0/36.0/87.1 shooting splits. He had already missed 19 games earlier this year with a left calf strain, and this oblique injury.
Smart originally suffered his injury in late March when Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze fell on his leg. Despite getting some on-court work in before the Thunder game, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year remains unavailable.
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Vanderbilt is listed as questionable after playing 12 minutes in the blowout loss to Oklahoma City, recording 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. It remains to be seen if he’ll play on Sunday against Dallas.
Without Dončić and Reaves, LeBron James and Co. will be forced to shoulder the burden as the regular season winds down and the postseason gets underway.
Despite Los Angeles’ momentum coming to a grinding halt, coach JJ Redick remains steadfast: “Our mission, it hasn’t changed. 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.”
