04/17/26 08:03:00
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04/17 04:59 CDT The Lakers still have hope for the playoffs, even without Luka
Doncic and Austin Reaves for now
The Lakers still have hope for the playoffs, even without Luka Doncic and
Austin Reaves for now
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- The Lakers spent six months building and working toward
the opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs.
And then Los Angeles' hopes and plans all collapsed during one quarter in
Oklahoma City earlier this month.
Luka Doncic made a move toward the Thunder's basket, but stopped suddenly and
hopped gingerly off the floor with a strained hamstring. Austin Reaves had
already been looking uncomfortable, periodically grabbing at the oblique
muscles in his side, and he also left the court for good a few minutes later.
Just like that, a Lakers season that had been on a steady upward trajectory
went into a nosedive that hasn't ended yet.
Los Angeles will be without its starting backcourt when it hosts the Houston
Rockets in a first-round playoff opener Saturday night, and the fourth-seeded
Lakers aren't saying when Doncic or Reaves could return to uniform --- if at
all.
Everybody realizes the Lakers could --- and probably should --- be cooked
without their top two scorers, including the NBA scoring champion himself. Not
even the ageless presence of LeBron James seems likely to be enough to boost
the Lakers' supporting cast over any of the Western Conference's other five
elite teams.
"I'm sure everybody wants to play us," Lakers coach JJ Redick said last week,
before the Rockets earned that honor.
Yet the Lakers aren't ready to give up just yet on what appeared to be a
promising spring just two weeks ago. Until that disastrous night in Oklahoma
City, they appeared to be peaking on an ideal schedule, winning 16 of their
previous 18 games to surge into third place in the Western Conference.
After all, Los Angeles won 53 games this season with just 64 appearances by
Doncic, 60 by James and only 51 by Reaves. This team got ample experience
without its full roster this season, and it didn't slow the Lakers down ---
even if the current circumstances are worse than anything they've overcome to
date.
"We're a little short-handed, and we know that," guard Luke Kennard said. "But
we've been preparing really well. Our focus is really high. ... We were able to
get some looks and develop a different kind of chemistry out on the court.
We've added some stuff in practice, and I think we've done a good job executing
it in practice, and I think our preparation has been really good."
Several players must step up to give the Lakers a chance, and Kennard is near
the top of that list.
Kennard is making his fifth trip to the playoffs with his fourth team, but he
hasn't started a postseason game since 2019 with Detroit. He stepped into a
high-volume role for the Lakers after Doncic and Reaves went out, contributing
as a primary ballhandler and playmaker in addition to his trademark 3-point
shooting.
For playoff-tested veteran Marcus Smart, the Lakers' challenge comes down to
one factor: "Willpower."
"We're competitors," added Smart, who's back in the postseason for the first
time since 2023 after making it in each of his nine seasons with Boston.
"They're going to try to come in and punk us, and if you will allow that, you
will be punked. I don't think we have any guys that are going to be punked on
this team. We might not be the most athletic and the strongest, but we've got
to have the most heart."
Center Deandre Ayton and forward Rui Hachimura both know they must be more
aggressive offensively to counter for the loss of Doncic, one of the
highest-usage players in basketball. Jake LaRavia, whose playing time
fluctuated significantly throughout the season, is likely to play a significant
role on both ends.
Even Bronny James is likely to get his first significant playoff minutes,
perhaps alongside his famous father.
No matter what Redick conjures up to take on the physical challenge posed by
the Rockets, the Lakers don't seem to accept the notion that their season
essentially ended on that night in Oklahoma City.
"It's going to take everybody," Smart said. "With that, it's a different style
of play, and I don't think it's something that Houston has prepared for. To be
fair, they haven't seen us without those guys. When they're playing us, they've
always played us with them. They've always had a matchup and game plan for
them, and it'll be interesting to see how they play us without them."
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
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