Lakers Down Reaves and Luka — LeBron Is On His Own Heading Into the Playoffs

The Lakers are falling apart at the worst possible time. Austin Reaves suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain against OKC on April 2nd and is done for the regular season — expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, meaning he'll likely be out for at least the start of the playoffs too. Luka Dončić is battling a hamstring strain with no firm return date.

That leaves 41-year-old LeBron James as the last man standing in LA. The Lakers have dropped three straight and are now tied with Houston for the 4/5 seeds in the West, with LA holding the tiebreaker. But the Rockets have won seven straight while the Lakers are limping to the finish line.

This was supposed to be the year the Luka-LeBron partnership finally clicked in the postseason. Instead, LA might be heading into a first-round matchup against Denver or Minnesota with their two All-Stars on the shelf. Year 23 for LeBron just got a whole lot harder.