JJ Redick on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves: “They’re out indefinitely. I’m not going to have an update for you this week. They’re out indefinitely”
They most likely will not play this year. But even if they were going to, JJ would make it seem like they were not and announce it day of.
Luka’s injury time line was 3-6 weeks. Which would place him as coming back mid-first round at best. Most likely not in the first round.
AR’s injury timeline was 4-8 weeks. Which means he has no shot at the first round. He’s out till at least the second round. And might be out for the rest of the playoffs even if somehow the Lakers pull out multiple miracles and continue to advance.
Edit: The hope for the Lakers is that LeBron is able to pull off a flukey game or two against the Rockets to extend the series and Luka returns to close it out. And then the Lakers go into OKC with Reaves close to returning.
AR’s injury timeline doesn’t line up with similar injuries and Windhorst reported today that opposing teams think its a smokescreen from Lakers/his agent
Kleber had an oblique strain earlier this season and was out 2 weeks. But his was a minor one. So I don’t think so. 4-8 weeks for a more significant strain makes sense. Off of a google search Tyler Kolek, in college, had a grade 2 oblique strain and he missed 3.5 weeks.
Conspiratorial counter point: JJ did accuse the Mavs staff of getting things wrong on the MRI. He may have done so because the Mavs staff saw it was not a grade 2 strain but a minor one.
Okafor, Embiid, and Smart all missed right about 4 weeks. Again that is for regular season importance and the injury is more about tolerance than re-aggravation. Reaves typically plays through injuries as well.
Windhorst is who we’re upvoting 68 times in here!?
The guy who said he’ll stop doing non-scripted reporting because it hurt his relationships in the league, I.e. team’s paychecks are too good to pass up over integrity.
What does that mean? Like its usually a shorter time frame or longer?
Shorter. Average time is about 17 days missed and that is for regular season level importance. He’s seen shooting free throws at Lakers shootaround today
Reaves has no reason to come back tbh, it’s contract year and likely the last time he’s going to get a massive contract
I wouldn’t risk anything if i was him, he had a great season
Reaves has an oblique injury. Even if he comes back and reaggrevates, it won’t effect him too much going forward. Doncic has a lower body injury. He’s more at risk. If he comes back and reinjures himself, it could cause lasting issues. Not every injury is the same.
Groin strains can become reoccurring issues
Do you know where the groin is?
The groin bone’s connected to the oblique bone
Is it in the butt?
Where is the groin? The lower body. Who between Reaves and Luka has a groin strain? Neither.
Excuse me why is this his last big contract? He’s been improving every facet of his game every year
Because it’s a 4-5 year contract and he’ll be 32-33 by the time of his next extension? By big i mean max type contract
Reaves is 27. His contract will be for 4 years. Putting him at 31. Definitely not his last big contract barring a severe injury.
O u sweet summer child. The bag work of mid 30 nba guys is legendary
O u sweet summer child.
fucking cringe. can we start to ban condescending cunts?
Yo I’m just here lurkin’ but that’s just a Game of Thrones quote lol
The average redditor literally only knows how to tip their fedora and quote mainstream movies
Right, game of thrones is so obscure
that cunts use on reddit to be condescending af. plenty of movie quotes you shouldnt say to people…lol
When you’re the arbiter of what movie quotes to use, some might say that is ultimate cunt behavior
“well…Youre a stupid fucking cunt”
im just quoting a movie bro.
Its really not that serious
Dam bro sorry to offend you but no, you dont get to ban people cuz u werent down with g.o.t.
lol imagine thinking you can use a quote from a show to be a prick as an excuse. you know almost every insult ever was also in a show or movie right?
You keep saying I was trying to be a prick. How? We are talking about whether or not nba players get big bags in their 30s and I used a quote to joke about how it actually happens way more than it should even tho most people (rightfully) think it shouldnt. How is continuing the discussion being a prick? How in the world does a line from a show get you this deep in your feelings and so offended when we’re talking about potential nba contracts? Are u ok bro?
You really think he’s gonna be good enough in 4+ years when he’s in his 30s for what he’s gonna get now? I don’t see how he improves in his 30s even more
Him coming back early won’t affect his contract one bit. He could aggravate it and will still get a max or near max contract.
This side of the bracket is an absolute gauntlet. You have to beat both the Thunder and Spurs/Nuggets just to get to the Finals.
Wolves have it worse. They would have to go through Denver, Spurs and OKC
Getting same side as Thunder is just death. I don’t normally say it’s a guaranteed win in the playoffs, but the Lakers genuinely looked clueless as to how to beat them.
Probably starts by hoping that 34% 3 point shooter Lu Dort doesn’t start 4⁄4 from deep
In 4 wins, the point differential for the Thunder was +117. There was only one game where they didn’t blow them out by 30. Their problems are much bigger than Lu scoring 12 points.
Only in one of those games did the Lakers have LeBron/Reaves/Luka tho. Not saying you’re wrong but you’re not really using a great sample.
Lakers were up 30 in the first half against the Thunder on the road late last year with those 3.
But they were still blown out by 30 even when they did have all 3. And when y’all were missing LeBron, we were missing JDub, still blown out by 30. And we beat y’all by 10 points with JDub, still having issues from his injury, and SGA wasn’t even in the game. Like we can nitpick down to it, it’s only going to look worse. None of these games were even remotely close to even think that anything would change.
None of these games were even remotely close to even think that anything would change.
The last time the Lakers 3 best players played the Thunder healthy in a full game they were up 30 in the first half. The next game before Luka was thrown out they were up in the 4th quarter. Both on the road. To go from that “absolute guarantee” the Thunder win is insane.
Your team is known to have insane shooting variance this season. Every shot was going in against the Lakers in April. What happens when it doesn’t is much more interesting to discuss than obfuscating stats
That was literally last season with the lakers shooting insanely hot from 3, and at that point, thunder already had nothing left to play for in the season. Not the best hill to die on.
Lakers can maybe take a game but a whole series? Not likely.
You just have to be primetime delusional to look at what the Lakers have done against a mostly injured Thunder team, and think that they would do better with JDub back in the line up, vs. him out. Completely ignoring that even if the Thunder see them there’s no reality AR and Luka are going to be firing 100% off an injury.
You just have to be primetime delusional to look at what the Lakers have done against a mostly injured Thunder team
Uhhh Jalen Williams and Thunder starters played in both games I’m citing, so you’re wrong there..
Their biggest problem is that they can’t afford to play without all their starters healthy, which is really all that your point shows.
People forget they were getting blown out by like 30 points with a fully healthy team two weeks ago.
“fully healthy” is the Lakers 4th best player not playing and their second best injured in 6 mins
The hope for the Lakers is LeBron uses up whatever gas he has left in the tank this season, right now, to get us as far into the playoffs as he can. If he has to sit games after Luka comes back, fine. But that’s the only way Lakers make it through
DraftKings wouldn’t allow a surprise like that.
game 5 is may 1st so there’s another 2 weeks if lebron can hold em off
I hate to say it as someone who’s mostly loved the Laker ride this year, but neither Luka or AR should try to come back this year. They’ll have plenty of time together to really contest for championships with a better constructed team. I also can’t imagine many Shittier stories than Luka not being able to play a long career at a super high level.
LeBron can definitely turn back the clock for a game. Problem is if he does and they don’t win it he won’t have much in the tank. 2017 finals style.
Luka’s injury is almost certainly exaggerated to make him look better upon his return.
“Exaggerated” lol why would he fly half way across the world just for treatment then?
Free booze on the flight + rewards miles.
you might be on to something
Luka is not even in the US until Friday and you have people expecting an update 😂
People are really expecting JJ to say “well, as a matter of fact…”, pull back the curtain and have Luka walk through like the damn Undertaker
That would be fucking awesome though.
“With a steel chair!!!”
People expecting him to return like John Cena during the Rumble.
[deleted]
lol brother that’s not how hamstrings work
No need to risk it because they won’t be close to 100% if they rush back.
Just accept that we’ll lose in the first round in what is meant to be a gap year. Retool the roster over the offseason and try again next year.
Respectfully, in what way was bringing in Ayton, etc suggesting that this year was intended to be a gap year?
They paid Ayton 8 million dollars and who is the “etc” here? Only people who thought the Lakers were doing anything this year were truly delusional Lakers fans and people who love to hate on the Lakers.
Using a year of prime Luka, AR on a cheap contract, and the last remnants of Lebron’s prime as a “gap year” was a stupid and wasteful idea. People were saying they were waiting out Lebron’s contract and pile up assets, when AR’s new contract will use up most of the money they would save without Lebron.
And now Lebron is the only healthy star left having to carry them lmao
Lakes entire timeline changed when the Mavs gifted them Luka
A gap year was inevitable with how they’re structured.
Well consider that for a “gap year” they were a game away from the 3rd seed with this lopsided top heavy roster as well as heavy injuries across the board. They needed to upgrade the pieces around the edges, specifically perimeter defense and size, had they done that (or just tried) they would probably still be a 3-4 seed but it wouldnt have put such a heavy load on Luka and AR and they would more likely be healthier and ready for the playoffs.
You say this but you don’t get how bad the future looked before that Luka trade lmao. Any further retool is a okay considering how bad it was supposed to turn out
It was bad, but it was made worse by not building off 2023’s success with bad signings and draft picks that didnt pan out. Even after Luka they remained conservative as if their window was 10 years when with Luka’s age and health its more like 6 years tops.
Using a year of prime Luka, AR on a cheap contract, and the last remnants of Lebron’s prime as a “gap year” was a stupid and wasteful idea.
It wasn’t an “idea”. It was their situation. You think they should have traded AR and LeBron in the offseason?
We’ve only had 1 tradeable first since this league year started. That turns into 3 this summer.
And we had some contracts left over from the Bron/AD era that would have needed that first to move. Some of them are off the books this summer and the rest are tradeable as they are expirings.
There wasn’t much we could this season to actually put together a good enough squad to lay a hand on the real contenders in this league.So yes. Always a transitional season for us.
I mean like a week and a half ago they were one of the hottest teams. Idk if I’d say this was an absolutely delusional gap year. There’s recency and confirmation bias there.
Ayton was the only move they made in the offseason and it’s the same roster as last year so it was never a win now team
Ayton, Smart, LaRavia were the moves essentially just replacing DFS. But yes this was a gap year roster.
And they were good “free” moves, if we retain all 3 and add more pieces we all of a sudden have the star power while having depth.
None of those moves hurt our long term cap, all three are tradeable/cheap.
He was brought to LA on a 1+1 as a way to earn bigger money this year, if possible, or having the player option if hurt or bad.
Gap year in a way that this offseason LeBron almost assuredly leaves, and they have a lot of cap space to play around. Both Smart and Ayton were signed to them as a way to prove it after having disappointing seasons beforehand. That’s why they were so cheap.
Don’t think LeBron “almost assuredly leaves” when he would need to take a massive paycut to go to Cleveland and not play with his son anymore
I only meant that his big contract is done and Lakers wont be offering nearrly as much. Maybe he stays but for a lot less money.
Are we even sure at this point that the Lakers would want him back on anything less than a massive paycut either?
I wouldn’t be shocked if they wanted him back, but I don’t see a world where they punt another year of Luka and possibly getting actual depth to just to give Lebron a max and keep a roster spot open for Bronny. For the MLE, yeah sure. For \(25m? Fair. \)50m+? Hell no.
20-25m would still be more than the Cavs can offer
Does Ayton for 8 mil scream “all-in” to you
“Lakers brought in a #1 pick, they have to be competing with OKC!”
Paying him 8 million?
Lakers are just waiting for LeBron to get off the books it’s an open secret he’s going to Cleveland
Last year was supposed to be the gap year. This year was supposed to be the retoled roster. Rob Pelinka needs to be promoted (because he ain’t getting fired) and they need to put in a GM who can competently put together a roster around generational talent.
I was downvoted and called a clipper loser for saying that exact same thing
That shouldn’t have happened. You should have gotten called a clipper loser for saying that Kawhi is better than Luka.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/sZt1LERmE1
I would take 27 year old Kawhi over 27 year old Luka. 18-19 Kawhi was one of the best players I have ever seen.
Right but he didn’t say that
Peak Kawhi is signficantly better
That’s not what he said.
And I stand by that🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
You can both be correct and be a Clipper loser, they’re not mutually exclusive
Yes but it was specifically for suggesting that rushing Luka and AR back to get ass blasted made no sense
By that same logic the last 3 years of Clippers basketball has made no sense
UHH DUH lol, front office tries to gaslight us into thinking the team is a contender every year when it clearly isn’t. Makes no sense
I wouldn’t downvote that but you are a clipper loser
Thank you! Whatever a malicious lakers fan says, the opposite is true 😂
You’re just digging the hole deeper bro. Log off
ESPN: Big hope for the Lakers are JJ Redick does NOT rule out Luka for the entire playoffs
It is in the best interest of the LAKERS to not tell anybody when Luka or AR might/will be back.
You just fuckin silently throw them in there GAME TIME DECISION randomly and catch the Rockets off guard and hope they have not gameplanned for Luka/AR.
Have Luka fly private straight from Europe to the stadium so no one has any idea he’s even in the country until he’s warming up pre-game on the court.
Put him in a man in the iron mask situation, tell everyone it’s Dalton Knecht.
Or better yet keep him in as questionable the whole time so they waste time preparing for Luka instead of someone actually playing. Either way. Gamesmanship at its finest.
sounds like cope
Suit up JJ
If Lebron goes off at this series goes to 5 or 6 games atleast one of those guys is coming back. I absolutely don’t buy Luka just accepting calling the season if he can physically play.
He was literally bleeding from both knees every single game for two straight series when the Mavs went to the Finals. He’ll absolutely die on the court if the Lakers have an opportunity to get out of the first round. JJ isn’t telling him no if he says he can play.
First round lakers exit likely. Let’s see what LeBron still has in the tank!
Memphis
LePlayingpossum
They reported that as soon as the injuries were announced. They said Reaves would be out 4-6 weeks and Luka out indefinitely. No time table given
Why do reporters always ask the same questions and expect different answers lol
Timme Time
Timme Duncan
Is he going to take any responsibility for playing them so much?
I was just checking out of curiosity and:
Luka = 5th in minutes played PER GAME Reaves = 14th LeBron = 36th
On a side note, 2 other teams have 3 or more players ranking in the top 36 for MPG:
Rockets (Amen 2nd, KD 3rd, Jabari 9th, Sengun 29th)
AND
Hawks (Johnson 8th, NAW 27th, Dyson 35th)
What stands out is everyone knows Reaves and Luka aren’t the best athletes, and Luka already has a recent injury issue. Those other players from the Rockets and Hawks are all either just younger or better athletes in general aside from KD (older) and Sengun (not super athletic)
Part of the issue with the Lakers is all the close games they got themselves involved in, they were clutch but that takes a lot out of you because now your stars are having to exert more energy late in games. As opposed to other teams in the top tier of the West that are somewhat coasting on a lot of wins, hence the point differential difference.
The Lakers have the lowest point differential for any playoff team that isn’t in the play-in (top 6 from each conference).
Grand opening. Grand closing.
No reason to risk a chronic hamstring injury for your franchise player when you have no shot in the playoffs
Ima be real and say these injuries might make LeBron play a few extra years.
Might beat the rockets.. but that’s like 80⁄20 against imo - not ever beating OKC in a series without firing on all pistons and probably getting lucky.
Unless lakers make the finals both are out for the season
Just rest Luka and AR15, for I shall see you both in Vahalla
If the Old man and the hospital ward can somehow how pull off a game 6 or 7 there is a glimmer of hope for Luka to return and AR can definitely make it back for 2nd round. Unfortunately I think it’s going to be a 4-1 win for the Rockets.
didnt dame get injections when he had torn abs to play. does reaves not care enough? this guy probably fucked up his obliques from playing golf lol
Translation: They Out
This is Hollywood level shit. They’ll be back in game 1 healthy af. It’s all for the narrative.
“No I clearly said they’re in, definitely”
Loooooool! Thank you basketball gods! Because the implosion is postponed the lakers may try to run back the Swiss cheese bros with Ayton next season.
Wild to call them that considering who your star is
Yep, keep pointing over here bud. We need all the help we can get from the lakers. Enjoy your playoffs 😭
Don’t be crying when they take Peyton Watson with comments like these
Oh our cheap ass ownership isn’t giving that kid even a pat on the ass on the way out the door. 😂
[removed]
Go back to facebook weirdo
tell me how it’s a choke if we don’t have our 2 best players lol