Make California Post a Preferred Source We all still have PTSD from April 2.
In what was supposed to be a measuring stick game against the Thunder, Luka Dončić suffered a strained hamstring that sidelined him the entire postseason and Austin Reaves sustained a strained oblique that kept him out the first four games of the playoffs.
Just like that, the Lakers were wiped off the board.
Their two leading scorers were taken out amid a 16-2 run. Their chances of winning a championship were gone. It was over for the purple and gold.
So, when Dončić and Reaves both suffered injuries in a 123-112 win over the Bucks, it was hard not to wince.
Luckily for the Lakers, this was not that.
Dončić said “I’m good” following falling to the floor and clutching his right ankle after Kyle Kuzma closed out on him as he made a 23-foot jumper in the fourth quarter.
His status is more uncertain after he suffered a left heel injury in the third quarter, subbed himself out three minutes later and didn’t return. Lakers coach JJ Redick said his X-rays were negative and that he will get imaging on Thursday. He added that his Achilles’ tendon is not a concern.
Luckily, this doesn’t seem catastrophic for a Laker team that has the best record in the league at 11-2 and has won seven straight games. At least this time, both of their superstars weren’t wiped out in the same game.
But it was scary. It was a dose of deja vu. It was a reminder of how fragile all of this is.
The Lakers have been the greatest surprise of the league this season.
No one thought they’d be championship contenders. Not after LeBron James left. Not after they acquired nine new players. Not after there were questions around Walker Kessler after he missed all but five games last season because of shoulder surgery.
The assumptions were unanimous: The Lakers needed time to develop chemistry. And they were still a piece or two away from competing, given their thinness at backup center and the question marks around their perimeter defense.
But those concerns proved to be nothing but white noise.
Dončić is having an MVP-caliber season, leading the league in scoring with 39.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game.
Reaves is putting on a MasterClass in efficiency with 25.3 points on 50.8% shooting from the field and 41.3% from beyond the arc.
Together, Dončić and Reaves are the league’s highest-scoring duo by a landslide, averaging 64.6 points — 12 points ahead of the No. 2 duo of Steph Curry and Yaxel Lendeborg, who are averaging 52 points.
Kessler is a double-double machine, averaging 14.9 points and 10.8 rebounds a game.
And the Lakers’ role players are starring in their roles.
That’s why it was so jolting when it seemed as though the same thread was yanked from the sweater on Wednesday, threatening to unravel everything.
Dončić and Reaves injured in the same game again? Just 223 days after the April 2 disaster?
It was hard not to fear that amid another stunning streak, they were decapitated again. It was hard not to worry that history was repeating itself.
But Dončić ‘s injury apparently isn’t serious.
“Obviously it’s painful a little bit, but I’ll be fine,” said Dončić , who had 32 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 32 minutes on Wednesday.
And the Lakers only can hope that after what happened to them a short while ago, they’ll catch a break with Reaves, too.
If anything, Wednesday was the ultimate reminder of how quickly things can change. It’s a lesson they learned a short while ago. It’s one that still haunts them.
