What’s next for the Lakers after Austin Reaves, Luka Dončić injuries?

Well, now what?

The first version of this article lasted all of about 55 minutes before Austin Reaves was ruled out for the regular season and likely the playoffs with a Grade 2 oblique strain. He will join Luka Dončić, who is out for the rest of the regular season and likely the first round of the playoffs with a Grade 2 hamstring strain

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Luka’s injury alone was going to cause widespread ripple effects for the Lakers. Add Austin to the mix and everything is disrupted.

Austin is set to miss 4-6 weeks, which covers the whole first round and part of a second round series, if somehow that happens. The typical recovery time for a Grade 2 hamstring strain would rule Luka out for the first round and, similarly, jeopardize his availability for a second round series.

Those timelines feel like a formality now, though. Austin and Luka are out for the first round of the playoffs and, barring a miracle, the Lakers will be, too.

Where does that leave the purple and gold, then, moving forward, both in the short and long term?

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Playoff seeding

The Lakers have five games remaining in the regular season and are not locked into a playoff seed yet. While it went under the radar last week, LA did clinch a playoff spot, meaning the play-in is out of the question.

The standings are still tight, however, with LA one game up on Denver and two games up on Houston in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Minnesota has taken a nosedive and is four games back of the Lakers in the sixth seed, so there is a floor for LA to fall.

Having the tiebreakers over both Denver and Houston will be huge.

The Lakers also don’t have a particularly daunting schedule, sans another meeting with Oklahoma City on Tuesday. They will play at Dallas on Sunday, the Thunder on Tuesday, at Golden State on Thursday, at home against Phoenix on Friday and at home against Utah to wrap up the season.

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Having said all that, making matters worse on Saturday was Denver beating the Spurs at home, pulling them closer to the Lakers. They will still play San Antonio and Oklahoma City one more time each in its final four games.

As for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/next-lakers-austin-reaves-luka-221626857.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-04 22:16:00

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