FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Do the Lakers have any chance of surviving without Luka and Austin?

We grinded through 82 games and the playoffs are finally here. The fun should start, but for the Lakers the party was spoiled before it even began. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves both open the series on the injury list, each doing everything possible to find a way back at some point.

Their absence changes everything. With the team’s two primary scorers out and no clear timeline for their return, this becomes a much different exercise than a typical series preview.

So this one focuses on the first phase of the matchup. What do Dončić- and Reaves-less Lakers look like against the Rockets, and do they have any realistic path to surviving early in the series?

And if things shift, we adjust. If either of the two stars makes it back, we pivot into a more traditional, game-by-game preview approach as the series evolves.

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Today’s highlights:

Can the stretched-out first round format help the Lakers?

Will this series be another warning sign for the Lakers to adapt their team-building vision?

Who wins the key matchup of veteran superstars?

Which coach can extend his short rotation?

Key Lakers challenge: size and rebounding

Key Lakers question: can the Lakers play Luke Kennard heavy minutes? (VIDEO)

Key Lakers tactic on offense: attack Sengun and Sheppard (VIDEO)

Key Rockets challenge: shooting and decision making

Key Lakers tactic on defense: blitzing Durant (VIDEO)

Is it time for irrational confidence?

1-Can the stretched-out first round format help the Lakers?

OK, I said I’ll approach this preview as if there’s no Dončić and no Reaves, but the real storyline hanging over everything is their race against time. That’s the question we’ll all be tracking throughout the series: can either of them make it back at any point?

The schedule at least gives the Lakers a small window of hope. With two days off before Games 2, 3, and 5, there is a bit more time for recovery, not just for Dončić and Reaves, but also for LeBron James, who at 41 will have to carry a massive load until they do. Those extra days matter.

And when you map it out, the timeline becomes interesting. Game 3 lands roughly three weeks after the April 2 injuries in Oklahoma City. Game 5 pushes that to four weeks. If the series goes the distance, Game 7 would come with close to a full month of recovery. That’s the window the Lakers are hoping can keep this series alive long enough to change it.

JJ Redick said Dončić and Reaves are out indefinitely and that there will be no further updates this week. But with Dončić scheduled to return from treatment in Spain to the U.S. tomorrow, the speculation and timeline watch will only intensify.

As for whether Dončić, in particular, should even push for a return, I’d go back to the point I made right after the injury. Everything the Lakers have done since trading for him has been about the long term, not chasing short-term success this season. So unless he is fully healed and truly 100% ready, it’s hard to see the logic changing with their most important piece and risking anything ahead of a crucial offseason.

2-Will this series be another warning sign for the Lakers to adapt their team-building vision?

Before getting into the tactical matchups and series-specific questions, it’s worth zooming out to the bigger picture that this season, and potentially this series, might be pointing toward. Those of you who followed my NBA Trends series heading into last year’s playoffs will remember the idea of a new era defined by speed, athleticism, and aggressiveness.

This past regular season only reinforced that direction, with two young teams that fully embraced it, the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs, storming through the league and breaking the 60-win mark. The Trail Blazers–Suns play-in matchup was another example of two aggressive teams going at it, with Portland, the winner, setting the tone with their on-ball pressure already earlier in the season.

As for the Lakers themselves, their playoff bracket has unfolded in a way that puts them on a direct collision course with two teams that embody this new, hyper-aggressive NBA. First, the Rockets, and if they somehow make it through, the gold standard of this new wave, the Oklahoma City Thunder, waiting in the second round.

Lack of athleticism, speed, and aggressiveness were the main vulnerabilities of the Lakers all season, which they offset with elite on-ball creation and shot-making. Now that those advantages are mostly gone, we’ll see if they can adapt, or if the playoffs will serve as another warning for the front office when it comes to priorities for a huge offseason ahead.

3-Who wins the key matchup of veteran superstars?

Many factors decide a series, but having the best player on the floor is the baseline that makes everything else easier.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant will meet in the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals. They have played 14 playoff games against each other.

LeBron averages 31.9 PPG
Durant averages 31.7 PPG

They are the only duo in NBA history to meet in 10 or more

LeBron James will likely need to have a high-level shot-making series for the Lakers to stand a chance, and because of the defensive options Ime Udoka can throw at him, his job will be much harder than that of his counterpart Kevin Durant on the other end. Durant was the primary defender on James for the vast majority of possessions in the three regular season matchups, largely because Amen Thompson and Tari Eason were chasing Dončić and Reaves around the perimeter. Now, James will have to deal with much tougher defensive assignments.

Of course, the Lakers will do everything possible to manipulate matchups (more on that later) to get James attacking weaker defenders, but it will be difficult for him to rely solely on his bully-ball game in the paint against one of the biggest teams in the league. His outside shot has been inconsistent for most of the season, but the Lakers will need him to deliver the kind of shot-making we saw in recent regular-season games, albeit against much tougher resistance than what the Rockets will provide.

4-Which coach can extend his short rotation?

This will be a matchup of two coaches who like to play their best players heavy minutes and tend to shorten their rotations in the playoffs. Over their last 15 games of the regular season, Udoka played his four key rotation pieces, Thompson, Smith Jr., Durant, and Sengun 33 minutes per game or more, with Thompson averaging 39.

Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard round out the six-man core Udoka trusts and leans on for most of the minutes, with Josh Okogie, Aaron Holiday, and Clint Capela filling smaller, situational roles. In last year’s seven-game first-round series against the Warriors, Udoka settled into a short eight-man rotation after Game 3.

We all remember how short JJ Redick’s rotation was against the Timberwolves, with him basically trusting just six players. With Dončić and Reaves out, the initial seven this year seem to be LeBron, Smart, Hachimura, Ayton, Kennard, LaRavia, and Hayes. But winning the physical and hustle battle with only seven players against a team like the Rockets is a very tough ask.

Can any of Vanderbilt, Kleber, Bronny James, or Nick Smith Jr. provide anything off the bench? Redick highlighted that it will be all hands on deck and pointed to his trust in both Bronny and Smith Jr., but I remain more skeptical. Vanderbilt or Kleber making any kind of impact with hustle and defense to match the Rockets’ size is one of the breaks the Lakers might need to go their way.

5-Key Lakers challenge: size and rebounding

The Rockets dominated the glass in the three regular-season matchups, posting a massive 44.1% offensive rebounding rate against the Lakers. Even without Steven Adams, they remain the best offensive rebounding team in the league, which is why boxing out and rebounding drills have been a major focus of preparation for Redick and his group. However, no matter the drills, the Lakers will have a tough time overcoming their size and personnel issues. Starting two guards in Smart and Kennard against a Rockets lineup with no player shorter than the 6’7” athletic freak Thompson could be a real problem. Hachimura is a below-average rebounder for his position, and asking him and Ayton to battle on the boards for 30-plus minutes will be a big ask.

Last year’s series against the Timberwolves, when the Lakers ran out of gas after battling an uphill fight against a much bigger opponent, was a hard lesson and a clear warning. The size disadvantage is why playing undersized guards like Bronny and Smith Jr. could be problematic, and why lineups featuring Vanderbilt or Kleber might make more sense.

6-Key Lakers question: can the Lakers play Luke Kennard heavy minutes? (VIDEO)

Luke Kennard was a great pickup and a real post-deadline success story for the Lakers, but I have a feeling this might be a tough series for him. That’s especially true in the high-minute, secondary playmaking role the Lakers have used him in and now need from him without their two primary ball-handling options.

I mentioned rebounding, and Thompson and Eason attack smaller guard units, like the Lakers with Kennard and Smart (or Reaves in prior games), or the Suns with Booker and Gillespie, almost like it’s a personal vendetta.

Kennard’s lack of athleticism just seems like a tough matchup against Thompson or Eason on both ends. I expect one of them to pick him up, apply full-court pressure, and make his two-man actions with LeBron less effective, since the Rockets can simply switch those actions. Kennard, as great as his shooting has been, is also the epitome of the Lakers’ broader athleticism deficit that I pointed out in the second section.

7-Key Lakers tactic on offense: attack Sengun and Sheppard (VIDEO)

I mentioned that Udoka fully trusts six players, and the Rockets’ issue is that two of them, Sengun and Sheppard, are defensive liabilities the Lakers have already targeted aggressively. Sheppard was hunted in the first game of the March two-game series, and Sengun in the second.

Without Dončić, who was the main hunter in those two games, this will be more difficult to pull off, but I’m sure the Lakers’ key tactic will be putting LeBron in positions to try to exploit either of those two weak links. Empty screen actions with a guard—Smart and Reaves for most of the season, and Kennard in recent games—were the preferred way to do that. As mentioned, I expect Udoka to put his better wing defenders on Kennard and Smart so they can switch, while trying to hide Sheppard on less reliable decision-makers like LaRavia, or maybe even Hachimura.

Sengun can be a bit more difficult to hide, but if LeBron can expose him in drop, either by knocking down mid-range jumpers or feeding Ayton with pocket and skip passes.

You could see a similar tactic, with the Rockets putting a wing on Ayton and hiding Sengun on a lesser threat would allow the Rockets to switch more freely and force James to beat them one-on-one. Benching Sengun and going to an all-wing lineup with no obvious weak spots is the ultimate defensive ace Udoka can pull to get stops.

8-Key Rockets challenge: shooting and decision making

Reading this so far, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that I’m not very high on the Lakers’ chances, and that’s mostly true. The talent disparity, along with the size and athleticism gap, seems too big for the Lakers to overcome. The reason I still think they have a chance is the Rockets’ often questionable decision-making and their tendency to self-destruct, especially down the stretch. They are heavy favorites, and the pressure will be on them to close this series out quickly. If the Lakers can keep games close into the final minutes, the Rockets’ clutch issues could resurface. The Rockets were 22–23 in clutch games this season and ranked third worst in the NBA with a -4.1 win differential, meaning they lost significantly more games than their point differential would suggest.

Sheppard is their only true point guard, with Aaron Holiday playing a minor role off the bench, and they often run units without a traditional ball-handler or organizer. Sheppard and Thompson are the only two main rotation players who average more than 2.5 dribbles per touch, and neither is a proven decision-maker. The Rockets finished the season with the third-worst turnover rate in the league, and the Lakers will need to win the turnover battle if they want to somehow mitigate the rebounding and possession gap.

The other question mark for the Rockets is shooting. Thompson is a non-shooter outside the paint, and Sengun is not a reliable threat from three either. Eason, who opened the season on fire from deep, shooting 46% before the All-Star break, fell off a cliff to just 22% afterward. Those struggles even led Udoka to bench him, starting either Sheppard or Josh Okogie in recent games instead. The same happened with Dorian Finney-Smith’s shooting, and he fell out of the rotation entirely. Redick and the Lakers have shown they can put together solid defensive plans when opponents have weak links to expose and help off, which is another reason for some modest optimism.

For the Lakers to extend this series beyond five games, they’ll need an edge in shooting, which is why keeping Kennard on the floor, alongside another key threat in Hachimura, will be a crucial tactical battle. If Eason’s and others’ shooting struggles carry over into the playoffs, Udoka may have to rely more on Sheppard and Holiday, which would make life on offense much easier for LeBron and Kennard.

9-Key Lakers tactic on defense: blitzing Durant (VIDEO)

The Lakers successfully exposed the Rockets’ decision-making and shooting issues by aggressively blitzing Durant in their two previous matchups. They managed to frustrate him, forcing long stretches without shots or points, along with several turnovers.

The playoffs are where tactical surprises usually show up, as teams scout and prepare extensively for counters and counter-adjustments. But in this case, I don’t think Redick has many real alternatives to the blitzing approach. They can tweak when and from where they send the double teams, but it’s hard to see a path to containing Durant without it. Smart doesn’t have the size to truly bother him, and the other options, LaRavia and Hachimura, aren’t defenders you feel comfortable trusting against one of the best isolation scorers in the game.

Another argument for continuing to blitz and scramble is one I’ve highlighted throughout the season. It’s the best way to maximize the defensive playmaking of Smart, LaRavia, and Vanderbilt, much more than relying on individual one-on-one containment. Again, the Lakers’ best chance is for the Rockets to shoot themselves in the foot, and it could start by knocking Durant out of his comfort zone and exposing the decision-making and trust issues that have been a theme of their season, including the KD burner saga.

A lot of the Rockets’ clutch issues came from not clearly knowing who to play through in key moments, Durant or Sengun, while the Lakers won’t have that same uncertainty. The ball will be in LeBron’s hands, and they’ll need him to defy age once again and be the best primary option in the series, going up against opponents nearly 20 years younger.

10-Is it time for irrational confidence?

The rational view says the Lakers don’t have much of a chance, and this could be over quickly. Without Dončić and Reaves, it’s hard to see how they generate consistent offense. The size and athleticism gap also feels too big to overcome. The Lakers have been a finesse team all season, but now they’ll have to win a fight in the trenches against a team that thrives there.

However, hope, irrational confidence, is why we watch sports. Sometimes the underdog surprises the favorite. Maybe the Lakers get a couple of lucky bounces and steal a game or two early. Maybe they get good news and reinforcements arrive faster than expected. Neither is very likely, but not impossible.

What this team has shown all season is that no matter who is on the floor, they’ll keep fighting as long as they have a chance. And that should be a good enough reason to look forward to Game 1 on Saturday.

One of key questions in my Lakers-Rockets preview is can Lakers play Luke Kennard heavy minutes?I have a feeling this might be a tough series for him, but cant see how Lakers not play him in 30 minutes range. Even with Bronny at 8 min as 9th man, I get to 30 in my projection https://t.co/mL3T2Dv1wV pic.twitter.com/119UbAgV82— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) April 17, 2026

I am grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision. It was so important to me to be present for the birth of my daughter in December and I appreciate Mark, Jeanie, Rob, JJ, and the entire Lakers organization for fully supporting me and…— Luka Doncic (@lukadoncic) April 16, 2026

And Lakers would like LeBron to return next season but it has to be at a reduced salary so team can build a championship roster.

Brian Windhorst on LeBron future with the Lakers:“I have specifically spoken to people on both sides of the negotiation of ‘what do you think his value is in the 2026-27 NBA season. Knowing there’s no team out there with cap space that are going to say ‘here’s $35M to play for… pic.twitter.com/0BFZA1jKMJ— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 16, 2026

LAKERS CEIILING IS LIKELY BEATINGROCKETS & TAKING OKC TO 6 GAMES!If Lakers can beat Rockets, that would be a dramatic improvement over last playoffs. Would love to see us beat the Thunder in a 7-game series but that is probably still a pipe dream. I’d be satisfied with… https://t.co/PyX9z7wMAD— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 16, 2026

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Luka, Reaves and the 48 hours that changed the Lakers’ season

THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS’ late-season surge didn’t just lift the team’s position in the standings. It transformed their hierarchy and buoyed their belief.

For more than a month — 33 days, to be precise — from the end of February until the beginning of April, the Lakers were one of the hottest teams in basketball, seemingly building momentum for a long postseason run.

The injuries that had plagued the roster from the start of training camp had resolved. The roles for the Lakers’ three stars in Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves had found harmony. And the results had been dominant.

From Feb. 28 to April 1, the Lakers went 16-2. Their offense, which had ranked No. 11 through their first 58 games of the season, jumped up to No. 4. Their defense, which had ranked 24th, was a suddenly reliable ninth.

Even though the Lakers were 10 games above .500 before the streak began, there were legitimate criticisms of how sustainable their performance had been up to that point — and their improved play quelled even those concerns.

Suddenly the team that couldn’t shoot went from No. 19 to No. 8 in 3-point percentage. The team that didn’t have the requisite athletes to get back in transition went from No. 13 in opponent’s fast-break points to No. 8. And the team that always lost to good teams counted the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets (twice) among their conquests.

After a 127-113 win over Cleveland on March 31, during which the Lakers outscored the Cavs 78-49 in the second and third quarters to avenge a 30-point loss from earlier in the season, Doncic was asked about the season’s turnaround.

“The run we’ve been on,” Doncic said, “it means a lot. We got to just keep playing.”

Then, 48 hours later, everything changed.

…

A TORNADO WATCH and storm that flashed lightning bolts across the sky and poured more than an inch of rain on Oklahoma City foreshadowed the Lakers’ game against the Thunder on April 2.

It was the first time L.A. had faced the defending champion since Nov. 12, when the Thunder romped 121-92.

In that game, the Lakers were missing James, who was out because of a sciatica injury that kept him out the first month of the season, and the Thunder was without Jalen Williams, who was recovering from offseason wrist surgery.

Five months later, this game was supposed to be different, with both teams at full strength and the Thunder just as hot as L.A., having won 15 of their past 16 games.

It was supposed to be a chance for the Lakers to validate their ascent, and to spotlight the individual showdown between Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with MVP votes potentially on the line.

Instead, what was supposed to be a spectacle between two of the NBA’s best teams quickly devolved into something else: a slaughter.

The Thunder went up 18-4 in the first few minutes and led 82-51 by halftime. Reaves tweaked his left side going up for a long rebound in the first quarter but stayed in the game.

The second half was even worse for the Lakers, with Doncic leaving the game midway through the third quarter after clutching his left hamstring and collapsing to the court in pain.

After the game, the Lakers were already preparing mentally to be without Doncic for a period of time, sources told ESPN. His left hamstring had previously sidelined him for four games leading into the All-Star break, and it’s the type of injury with a high risk of reoccurrence.

An MRI was scheduled for the next day in Dallas. It revealed a Grade 2 strain.

It was a blow, to be sure, but not a knockout.

The Lakers were still No. 3 in the West with five regular-season games remaining — and two of those opponents, the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz, were focused on their draft lottery odds, not necessarily on winning.

Reaves’ left side was still bothering him, so the team also scheduled an MRI for him. Initially, they thought he might sit out only a game or two and be back before the regular season was over, team sources told ESPN.

In the meantime, there was disappointment within the team that Marcus Smart was unable to return from a right ankle injury to help with the ballhandling responsibilities, team sources told ESPN.

When the Lakers met for practice at Southern Methodist University the day before the Mavs game, the team acknowledged that the pathway for a lengthy postseason run had narrowed. Still, there was internal belief that it was navigable.

Redick said he would increase the offensive touches for center Deandre Ayton and forward Rui Hachimura — music to their ears after pining for shots all season.

Redick met with Luke Kennard, acquired for his shooting in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks at the deadline, about the need for him to play on-ball in the interim.

“We walked through some stuff and I was in some different positions,” Kennard told ESPN. “They were preparing me for what was about to happen.”

James, for his part, was unfazed by what it would mean for him personally, sources close to him said, because even if he had willingly filled in as the third option behind Doncic and Reaves during L.A.’s winning streak, he never felt as if he needed to do so because of any drop-off in his game. It was just what the team needed at that time.

“Our job, the rest of these guys and my staff, we’re going after the No. 3 seed and we’re going to try to win a playoff series,” Redick said after practice on April 4. “And we’ll see what happens with Luka.”

A couple of hours later, after practice had ended, the team received the results of Reaves’ second MRI after the first was inconclusive: he had sustained a Grade 2 oblique strain and would also be out for four to six weeks, sources told ESPN.

Suddenly, that narrow path felt as if it were closing entirely.

“[After the Reaves news] it’s almost like JJ was like, ‘Do I need to readdress this again with the team now?'” one team source told ESPN.

…

THE NEXT DAY, the news from the previous two showed itself on the American Airlines court.

L.A. fell behind by as many as 22 points against the Mavs and lost 134-128, despite Dallas having lost eight of its past nine games.

James was brilliant, scoring 30 points on 12-for-22 shooting, with 15 assists and nine rebounds. Hachimura had 13 field goal attempts, his most in months, and made nine of them. Kennard, while only shooting 5-for-17, had his first career triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists.

But the defensive fight the team had talked about at SMU, the attitude that had progressed so much over the course of the season, was dormant, multiple Lakers sources told ESPN. And Dallas, despite little incentive to do so, dominated, with no love lost between the franchises since the fallout from the Doncic trade.

Two days later, the Lakers played the Thunder again, this time in Los Angeles. And again, it was ugly.

Redick benched Hachimura a couple of minutes after tipoff and then called timeout to pull Jarred Vanderbilt just 16 seconds into the second quarter, leading to a heated exchange between the two, with Reaves and Lakers assistant coach Nate McMillan stepping in to keep it from escalating.

L.A. trailed by seven at the time of the Vanderbilt spat; the Thunder pushed that lead above 40 in the second half. The loss dropped the Lakers to 0-2 since the injuries, and the Nuggets moved up to No. 3 in the West, putting L.A. in danger of losing home-court advantage in the first round if it kept falling, with a back-to-back set looming against Golden State and Phoenix.

Before the game against the Warriors, the Lakers gathered for a team meeting in their hotel in San Francisco.

Redick began with an admission — that he’d overlooked the emotional toll of the game in Oklahoma City.

“It was important to just address the situation and talk through the situation,” he said. “And [acknowledge] the belief level with our group during that six-week stretch. Now we’ve got to figure out how to get this group — and that’s players, coaches, that’s all of us — to believe at a high level again.”

Added a team source: “I think it was a bigger shock to the system than we acknowledged.”

James’ demeanor during the team’s preparation for the Warriors also was noted.

“Just leading the group in the walkthrough, taking it serious and trying to come out and get a win in Golden State, it just kind of reset a tone of like, ‘Hey guys, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but let’s be committed to each other,” a source at the meeting told ESPN. “‘Let’s be committed to the process.'”

Then they did.

…

THE LAKERS BEAT the Warriors 119-103 on April 9. Then they spanked the Suns 101-73 the next night. And they closed out the regular season with a 131-107 win over Utah last Sunday.

Their 3-0 final flourish earned them a 53-29 record — three more wins than they had last season.

James was named Western Conference Player of the Week, after averaging 24.0 points, 9.7 assists and 6.0 rebounds after Doncic and Reaves went down.

And remarkably, from April 3-12, the Lakers actually improved in several areas from where they ranked during their hot streak. Their defense stiffened even more and their team 3-point percentage increased from 37.6% to 41.2%.

The Lakers, at least for now, have stabilized.

They will open their first-round series as the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed, hosting the No. 5-seeded Houston Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

And as they prepare for it, sources told ESPN they have no expectation of having either Doncic or Reaves back at any point in the first round. But they also have not completely ruled out the possibility of one or both of them becoming available the longer the series lasts.

“We have been on hikes all season long, gotten lost in the woods and nobody thinks we’re going to be rescued,” Redick said. “And we find a path and we get back to the meadow and find civilization, and we’re going to be OK. That’s what our group is. I think we’ve all just embraced that, and we just have to find it now with this group.”

Those extra days will not only be a great help to LeBron James but will also stretch out the first round series to give Luka and Austin more time to recover and hopefully join the Lakers late in the first or early in the second round.— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 15, 2026

Could be a huge thing if Luka can come back for game 6 or 7. Still think he won’t be back until mid 2nd round, at best, but we’ll see. Reaves is another question, I think it’s as much about what he can tolerate and play effectively with so

3 days between games is what the Doctor ordered. That’s a good chance for the team to manage things while Luka and Reaves recover.

Lakers' fortunate playoff draw has provided them with an unexpected feeling https://t.co/CapzVHQ4Hf— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 15, 2026

Could Luka realistically come back to help the Lakers in the first round?? @WindhorstESPN pic.twitter.com/0LnqP16zwG— Jim Rome (@jimrome) April 14, 2026