The Lakers lost to the Mavericks, 128-134, tonight despite a valiant effort led by LeBron James (double-double with 30 points, 15 assists, and nine rebounds, 12-22 FG, 54.5 FG%) and Luke Kennard (triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists, 5-17 FG, 29.4 FG%), with 20-point games also from Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes.
Following this loss, LeBron James spoke to the media and revealed his true feelings upon getting the news of losing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to injuries that happened in the same game over the span of 48 hours.
“I woke up from my nap after practice, and it was like another shot to the… It was a shot to the heart and the chest and the mainframe with Luka, but we kind of got that news kind of quick,” said James, implying they were able to rip the band-aid off on the news soon.
“And with AR, he was dealing with the pain against OKC or whatever the case may be, we knew he was going to get an MRI, but yeah, I woke up from my nap yesterday and saw that news and was like, ‘S—‘.”
LeBron James, at age 41, has found himself in the precarious position of being the Lakers’ first option right after handing over the reins of the team to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves over the season.
But the Lakers lost both of their star guards to injuries in their 43-point blowout loss to the Thunder. Without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers’ hopes of going the first round in the playoffs look slim.
James has tried to remain optimistic and also admitted that it would be a challenge to do so after relying on Doncic and Reaves all year.
But this may not be the case going into the playoffs, as during the game, Shams Charania dropped some breaking news that the Slovenian superstar Doncic is heading to Europe to get some unconventional treatment done on his knee, which might accelerate the timeline for his return.
Considering that James was playing when this news came out, he may not have been aware of this update at the time he made these comments. If the Lakers get Doncic back in the first round, then they may have a chance to proceed to the second round.
The Lakers fell to 50-28 following this loss to the Mavericks and are currently on a two-game losing streak. With just four games left in the regular season, they are tied with the Nuggets but hold the tiebreaker over them in the standings.
Therefore, if the Lakers drop more games over this final stretch, they could fall to fourth or even fifth in the standings since the Rockets (49-29) are just one game behind after defeating the Warriors tonight.
Hence, the final stretch of four games might just decide whether or not the Lakers get the home-court advantage, but with the Timberwolves’ loss to the Hornets tonight, the Lakers are guaranteed now to not finish lower than the fifth seed.
They will need both their stars back for LeBron James to get some of the help he needs in the playoffs. If not, then it seems to be a likely first-round exit for the Lakers.
