The Lakers will be playing at least the first week of the NBA Playoffs without their top two scorers vs. the Rockets.
Lakers coach J.J. Redick told media on Tuesday, April 14, that both Luka Doncic (33.5 PPG) and Austin Reaves (23.3 PPG) are out “indefinitely”, with no further update coming this week.
That will put Doncic and Reaves out for at least the first two games for the Rockets vs. Lakers series; Game 1 is set for Saturday, April 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET. It’s unknown when either Doncic or Reaves will return beyond that as of now.
With the injury bug hitting them at the wrong time, the Lakers are currently a relative long shot to win their first-round playoff series vs. the Rockets, with a 4.54x payout on PrizePicks — a $100 entry pays $454 if you’re right.
According to series score payouts, Houston to win 4-2 (3.12x payout) and sweep the series (3.22x payout) are the outcomes with the highest implied probability.
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Luka Doncic Injury Update: Will Doncic Play in NBA Playoffs vs. Rockets?
Doncic is still currently in Spain receiving specialized treatment on his hamstring strain. The All-Star PG is set to return on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Game 1.
Doncic injured the hamstring on Apr. 2 in a game vs. the Thunder, the second time injuring the same hamstring this year. As of now, his timeline to return is unknown.
It’s possible that Redick is being intentionally vague about Doncic’s return, but it looks very unlikely that Doncic will play in the first four games of the series.
The Lakers were 10-8 without Doncic in the lineup this season, but three of those wins came vs. two Play-In teams and the tanking Utah Jazz.
Look for further updates from Redick next week after the first two games of the series.
Austin Reaves Injury Update: Will Reaves Play in the NBA Playoffs?
Reaves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique strain on April 2 vs. the Thunder — the same game that Doncic got hurt.
Reaves is likely to be out for the “majority” of the series vs. the Rockets, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania on the Pat McAfee Show. “Most likely, the earliest [return timeline] for him is going to be the first week of May,” Charania said.
Reaves’ original recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks would put him out for the entirety of the first round on the long end of it, or a late series return on the short end. It’s looking more likely that may be on the short end according to the latest reports.
Expected Lakers Starting Lineup vs. Rockets
Based on the final games of the season, here’s how we can expect the Lakers starting lineup to shake out without Doncic or Reaves.
Marcus Smart
Luke Kennard
LeBron James
Rui Hachimura
DeAndre Ayton
The first players off the bench are expected to be Jake LaRavia, Jared Vanderbilt, and Jaxson Hayes, who returned to practice on Tuesday. However, some of these pieces, are TBD, depending on what Redick goes with.
Regardless, it’s not exactly ideal when facing a team with depth like the Rockets.
The Lakers will need to lean heavily on LeBron James to compete in this series; they’ve done exactly that this year when necessary, as James has a 36.1% usage rate without Doncic or Reaves on the floor, per Fantasy Labs. No other player has a usage rate over 25%.
According to NBA.com. James averaged 25.5 points per game in under 30 minutes over the final four games of the season.
Plus, the Lakers have done well when they lean on the king; LeBron-led Lakers teams without Doncic and Reaves have outscored opponents by 11 points per 100 possessions in 528 minutes.
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Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both likely to miss most — if not all — of the NBA Playoffs first round vs. the Rockets, making the Lakers long shots on PrizePicks to win their first round series.
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