The Los Angeles Lakers suffered devastating blows in their quest to win an NBA championship when both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down with injuries on April 2. That meant the Lakers went from a team that could have made a lot of noise in the playoffs to one that might not even win a series, as Doncic and Reaves are going to miss at least part of the first round.
The timing couldn’t have been much worse for the Lakers, but former NBA star Kenyon Martin doesn’t think they would have even won a playoff series if they were healthy. Martin claimed on Gil’s Arena that having too many White players was going to prove to be their downfall in the postseason.
“Y’all was gonna lose first round either way it go,” Martin said. “You play four White boys, you ain’t gonna beat nobody. I want to know what team has been successful with that many on one roster.”
Rashad McCants brought up the Deron Williams-led Utah Jazz of the late 2000s. Most notably, the Jazz had made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2007.
Martin wanted McCants to name six White players on those teams, but he could only bring up Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, and Matt Harpring. Gordan Giricek was on the Jazz as well, and Martin acknowledged they were a good team.
Gilbert Arenas then mentioned the Boston Celtics of the 1980s. With the likes of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale leading the way, the Celtics had won three NBA championships in the decade. Martin doesn’t count them, though.
“Larry Bird a n***a,” Martin stated. “… Danny Ainge a sewer rat. He out here biting people and s***. He don’t count… Bill Walton a hippie. Kevin McHale probably would’ve been your closest then.”
Martin doesn’t view those Celtics as his average “White team.” The 48-year-old then explained why he thinks these Lakers with Doncic, Reaves, Luke Kennard, and Jake LaRavia were never going to go far in the playoffs.
“The point I’m making is Luka don’t play no D if he is healthy, that’s a problem,” Martin said. “Healthy or not, that’s an issue on that side of the ball, but him scoring 35 would help. But if he’s limited, good luck. Austin Reaves, your No.2, you’re gonna need him to score 24, 25, 26 to beat anybody.
“Luke Kennard damn can’t guard this god damn coffee cup,” Martin continued. “He can shoot that b***h, though. Then you playing Jake… You ain’t gone beat nobody.”
LaRavia actually is a good defender, but Doncic, Reaves, and Kennard aren’t. The Slovenian isn’t as bad as people make him out to be, but he is no lockdown defender.
Despite having one too many below-average to bad defenders on the roster, the Lakers were still doing well on that end of the floor in March. Their 111.7 defensive rating for the month ranked 10th in the NBA.
That improvement on the defensive end contributed to the Lakers going 15-2 in March. Not everyone was impressed, though, as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said their gimmicky defense was going to get exposed in the playoffs. Green was still giving them a chance because they have Doncic and LeBron James, but then disaster struck.
Doncic suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in the 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. In that same game, Reaves also suffered a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury and was ruled out for four to six weeks. He is almost certainly missing the entire first round of the playoffs.
As for Doncic, the average recovery time for him is about four to six weeks as well, but he is trying to return sooner. The six-time All-Star has headed to Europe to get specialized medical treatment. If Doncic returns during the first round and is anywhere near his best, the Lakers might have a chance. It’s looking likely, though, that they’re going to fail to win a playoff series for the third year in a row.
