With the Los Angeles Lakers down 2-1 in their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they need a win in Game 4 to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination. In Game 3, the Lakers were in rough shape, and Luka Doncic was off the mark as he struggled with a mysterious illness that nearly made him sit out the game.
The good news is, there are no signs that Doncic, or any other Lakers star, is questionable for tomorrow’s pivotal matchup. The only Laker included in the injury report for Game 4 is Maxi Kleber, who remains out of the lineup to recover from right foot surgery. He hasn’t played since late January, and no timetable has been set for his return.
The Timberwolves also have a clean injury report tomorrow, with Rob Dillingham being their only player unavailable. The size and physicality of the Timberwolves have been the keys to their success, and as long as they are healthy, they can continue to give the competition a major challenge defensively.
The reveal doesn’t change much for the Lakers, but it does give the fans some relief after a series of injury scares. After dropping 38 points on Friday, there was concern that LeBron James might have overexerted himself in a wasted effort. He was questionable for Game 1 as part of his lingering recovery plan from the groin injury that sidelined him for seven games.
Luka Doncic was the biggest concern across the league, and his status was a major topic of conversation after he dropped just 17 points on 37.5% shooting in Game 3. We didn’t know it at the time, but reports later revealed that Luka had been sick all day and had vomited multiple times leading up to the opening tip-off.
In full context, it’s a miracle that Luka played at all, given how bad he was feeling physically. If the illness lingered into Sunday’s contest, there was a chance that he would have been given the night off to recover his strength — but then again, maybe not.
Losing their next showdown will put the Lakers down 3-1 heading back to Los Angeles, and that’s just not an ideal position to be. Sick or not, they need Luka Doncic on the floor for them if they want the best chance to win the game and potentially save their season.
With everyone available and in the rotation for Sunday’s game, there’s no excuse for the Lakers not to pull out a win. While there are lingering issues in the backcourt (particularly with Jaxson Hayes), the Lakers believe they can win this series if they make the right adjustments and properly execute the game plan devised by JJ Redick and his staff.
It’s much easier said than done for the Lakers, but at least they are still whole three games into the playoffs. That’s more than can be said for several teams right now, including the Grizzlies and Nuggets, who are struggling to keep their roster together.
