Lakers Drop to 4-Seed as Injuries Pile Up — Luka and Reaves Both Done for Regular Season

Five days before the end of the regular season, the Lakers are falling apart at the worst possible time. Luka Doncic is out with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain suffered in LA's 139-96 blowout loss to OKC. Austin Reaves followed with a Grade 2 oblique injury from the same game — he's looking at 4-6 weeks, which puts even the first round of the playoffs in doubt.

Without their two best players, the Lakers (50-27) just watched Denver leapfrog them into the 3-seed after the Nuggets' 9th consecutive win. Luka has played 64 games — one short of the 65-game minimum for MVP and All-NBA eligibility. His agent plans to challenge the rule under "Extraordinary Circumstances" since two of his absences were for the birth of his second child in Slovenia.

The math is brutal: Lakers went from Pacific Division champs cruising into the playoffs to potentially facing the Rockets in the first round without their franchise player. And Reaves might not be back until the second round — if they even get there.