{"id":700571,"date":"2026-04-06T01:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T01:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/700571\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T01:13:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T01:13:21","slug":"lakers-jj-redick-addresses-lebron-james-role-amid-luka-doncic-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/700571\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers\u2019 JJ Redick Addresses Lebron James Role Amid Luka Doncic Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> were dealt several injury blows to their roster near the tail end of the season, with Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic both getting sidelined for the rest of the season, and potentially further into the postseason.<\/p>\n

Both players were revealed to have injuries after a blowout loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Doncic was later determined to have a Grade 2 hamstring strain, with his return timeline unknown, while Reaves suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain and also had an uncertain return.<\/p>\n

The news hit the Lakers with only a handful of games remaining in the team’s season, and the team still fighting for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. <\/p>\n

On Sunday, they visited the Dallas Mavericks, with head coach JJ Redick asking about the injury situation as it related to superstar LeBron James<\/a> and his teammates.<\/p>\n

More news: Lisa Leslie Blasts \u2018Disruptive\u2019 Geno Auriemma for Final Four Meltdown<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lakers<\/p>\n

“We knew that Austin was gonna be out for a little bit of time. Obviously, disappointed and devastated for him to have his regular season finish this way. I know I said it yesterday, both those guys are gonna try to come back. It’s our job to extend the season so that they can come back,” he said regarding the upcoming games and postseason.<\/p>\n

A reporter mentioned how LeBron had previously been more of a “third option” for the Lakers behind Doncic and Reaves, but was now a first option by default, asking Redick if they needed to be careful not to place too much of a burden on him due to his age.<\/p>\n

“We have to be mindful of that. That’s a valid question. For all our guys, him included, we wanna put them in positions to be successful, and certain guys are gonna be tasked with doing stuff they haven’t done a lot of this year,” the Lakers coach said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He mentioned they would use “ball handling by committee” due to the absence of their main point guard, Reaves, and Marcus Smart, and that Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, and Luke Kennard would probably get more plays called for them during this injury situation.<\/p>\n

“The burden’s not gonna be on just LeBron to create all the offense,” he explained to reporters before the Mavericks game.<\/p>\n

Missing Doncic and Reaves is a huge hit for the team\u2019s offense, even though they still have one of the league\u2019s greatest players of all-time in the lineup.<\/p>\n

Doncic was leading the team in scoring with 33.5 points per game, followed by Reaves with 23.3 per game. LeBron provided 20.6 per game, but at age 41, it\u2019s rarer to expect the types of performances that he had in his heyday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ahead of their matchup with Dallas, the Lakers had five games remaining with a 50-27 record. They were third in the Western Conference, with the Nuggets a half game behind them at 50-28, so the final games of the regular season will have an impact on how the playoff seeding ends up.<\/p>\n

More news: Timberwolves Make Anthony Edwards Injury Decision for Hornets Game<\/a><\/p>\n

For more about the Los Angeles Lakers, head over to Newsweek Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n