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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers
From the moment it happened on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, it was clear that Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic was going to be out for some time with a hamstring injury. The only question was whether that injury would take him out for a week or two, or whether it would be more like a month. Of course, fans and observers quickly learned it was the latter, and that the team’s fate would come down to the ability of fellow stars Austin Reaves and LeBron James to pick up the slack and keep the Lakers alive in the playoffs.
But then, of course, a second wallop of bad news came. It turns out the Lakers knew that Austin Reaves was dealing with some discomfort during the loss to the Thunder, and it turns out he has a Grade 2 oblique strain, which will keep him out for the rest of the year and at least the first round of the playoffs.
So now it is down to James, who is 41 and was only days ago being praised for his embrace of the third-option role, to carry a Lakers team that appears to be swimming upstream as the playoffs near.
LeBron James: ‘That Was Literally My Tone’
On Sunday, James spoke to reporters for the first time since the injuries to Doncic and Reaves were announced, after the Lakers lost to the Mavericks to lose ground in the Western Conference standings. James revealed the shock and deflation he felt at the time. He also revealed his four-letter reaction.
“I woke up from my nap after practice and I woke up to that news,” James said. “It was, like, we knew it was a shot to the heart obviously and to the chest, to the mainframe with Luka, understanding that. But we kinda got that news kinda quick. And then AR, kind of dealing with the pain, OK, we’ll see whatever the case may be.
“We knew he was gonna get an MRI but yeah, I woke up from my nap and saw that (Reaves) news and was like, (Expletive)! That was literally my tone.”
LeBron James, Lakers Currently Third in Western Conference
The Lakers currently are tied with the Nuggets for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, thanks to the 16-2 stretch they flaunted from February 28 through the end of March. But then came the first game in April, a 139-96 humbling against the Thunder that was an insult in itself, but added the injuries to Reaves and Doncic for good measure.
The Rockets are just a game behind, putting the Lakers’ first-round homecourt advantage in jeopardy with just three games left to play. The Lakers do have the tiebreakers over both the Rockets and the Nuggets, which is some consolation as the final weeks presses forward.
Getty Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers
Luka Doncic Seeking Early Return for Lakers
There is also some hope that the Lakers, if they can stay alive in the first round of the playoffs, somehow, could get Doncic back sooner than expected. That’s because of news that the Lakers star is going to Europe for a high-tech treatment on his hamstring that could get him ready to play on the early side of his timeline.
As ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote on Twitter/X, “After consultation with Lakers doctors and his own medical team, Luka Doncic will seek specialized medical treatment in Europe on his Grade 2 left hamstring in an attempt to expedite his return to play, agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball tells me and @mcten.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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