The Lakers are down after the regular season-ending injuries to star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

But they’re not out. 

Already having clinched a playoff spot before Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique strain) suffered their regular season-ending injuries during last Thursday’s blowout road loss to the Thunder, the Lakers are guaranteed to play beyond Sunday’s regular season finale against the Jazz.

How much further they’ll play beyond the first four games of their first-round playoff series, and whether they’ll extend the season to give Doncic and Reaves enough time to return to the floor in the postseason, will depend on several factors.

The main one being whether they can find the right formulas and game plans to win during life without their star guards.

“We have to be diligent on the offensive end with our screening and still want to just have a paint-touch mentality,” coach JJ Redick said ahead of Sunday’s loss to the Mavericks. “Got to put guys in a position to do that, but our screening’s going to be a big part of that, our effort offense as well. We’ll play lineups that haven’t played together probably all season. Got to crash, got to run.”

The loss to the Mavericks, in which they scored 128 points but allowed the Mavericks to score 134 points in their first home win in over two months, showed there’s progress for the Lakers to make.

And with LeBron James missing Tuesday’s home game against the Thunder because of left foot injury management, in addition to Marcus Smart sitting out of the matchup for his eighth consecutive missed game because of a right ankle contusion, significant progress won’t be able to be made until Thursday’s road game against the Warriors at the earliest. 

Here are the factors the Lakers need to hone in on to maximize the team without Doncic and Reaves

The possession battle

Doncic and Reaves combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 6.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Lakers during the regular season.

There isn’t a player, or even a collection of a few players, who can replicate or replace the statistical production the team’s star duo produced on a nightly basis.

But what the Lakers can do is improve even more on the margins. 

The Lakers have been one of the league’s better teams this season at winning the possession battle, but they can be even better. 

Already one of the league’s best teams at getting to the free throw line, a strength of Doncic’s and Reaves’, and not allowing many offensive rebounds or opponent free throws, the biggest way they can give themselves more bites at apple is from better offensive rebounding.

This can be achieved by playing bigger lineups more often, which they did against the Mavericks when they used Maxi Kleber as the 4 alongside either Deandre Ayton or Jaxson Hayes.

They have an above-average offensive rebounding rate when Kleber and Hayes share the floor, and become an elite offensive rebounding team when Kleber and Ayton are on the court together.

Transition defense

Getting stops has been an up-and-down challenge for the Lakers.

And a depleted offense won’t make things easier defensively.

But the Lakers can help themselves by consistently getting back on defense with more urgency compared to how they did against the Mavericks.

Their 12 turnovers, a very low mark, weren’t the problem. But the 21 points they allowed off turnovers made it a game of catch up.

Slow down

The Lakers are going to need all of the easy points they can get. 

But they also need to be strategic with how often they push the ball up the floor in transition offensively.

James is a one-man fastbreak, third in the league in transition points per game. 

And they have multiple players besides James, including Hayes, Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura, who thrive offensively when getting up and down the floor.

But without the proper ball-handlers to feed them, the Lakers need to be careful with how often they push.

Mistakes in transition not only would prevent them from having offensive rebounding opportunities, but will spread their defense thin.

With the NBA playoffs set to begin next Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs are looking to bring back their glory days of winning five titles from 1999 to 2014.

Victor Wembanyama has been the primary reason for the team’s return to playoff basketball, leading the NBA in blocks per game for the third time in as many seasons while averaging 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, both career highs.

However, the 7-foot-4 phenom not only suffered a rib contusion on Monday night, putting him at risk for the rest of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, but his MVP candidacy is also at risk.

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Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs reacts to an injury during the Philadelphia 76ers game at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on April 6, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

The NBA states that players must play 65 games in order to receive votes for season awards such as MVP and All-NBA teams. However, Wembanyama has played in 63.

That number does not include the NBA Cup Final, which actually does not count toward the stat sheet, but the NBA does count it toward the season-award total, marking him just a bit safer.

If Wembanyama wants to be named MVP, the NBA allows a maximum of two games in which a player logs between 15 and 19.59 minutes to count toward the league-required minimum of 65 games played for award eligibility. Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks while playing 15:40 in the first half on Monday.

Paul George of the Philadelphia 76ers reaches out to an injured Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on April 6, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

GENO AURIEMMA RELEASES STATEMENT AFTER SHOUTING MATCH WITH DAWN STALEY: ‘UNLIKE WHAT I DO’

Wembanyama took an inadvertent elbow to the ribs from Paul George when the Philadelphia 76ers forward was attempting to deflect a pass as the 7-foot-4 Frenchman was sprinting up the court on a fast break with 10:49 remaining in the first half. Wembanyama tumbled to the court and remained down for a minute while George patted him on the backside apologetically.

Wembanyama subbed out of the game shortly after the collision and immediately went into the tunnel leading to the locker room while keeping his arm pressed to his side.

He returned with 5:33 remaining in the period, but asked head coach Mitch Johnson to take him out with 44 seconds remaining in the first half. He again went into the tunnel leading to the locker room while holding his arm to his side and was ruled out at the start of the second half.

San Antonio (60-19) is 2.5 games behind the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder (62-16) and assured of finishing no worse than second in the conference.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama brings the ball up court against the Utah Jazz, Jan. 22, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (Rob Gray/AP)

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Each of the Spurs’ final three games are at home.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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DALLAS — Lakers star Luka Doncic will seek special medical treatment in Europe for his left hamstring strain with the hopes he’ll be able to return to the court quicker, his agency shared on Sunday night.

Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, who’s Doncic’s agent, first told ESPN the news after the Lakers’ 134-128 loss to the Mavericks, which was the Lakers’ first game since Doncic and fellow star guard Austin Reaves suffered their regular season-ending injuries during the team’s blowout loss to the Thunder on Thursday. 

Doncic suffered the hamstring injury during the third quarter of the loss, with an MRI on Friday revealing a Grade 2 strain,  which typically comes with a recovery timeline of 3-6 weeks. 

InStreetClothes, which is an NBA injury database run by certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts, stated that the average time lost for the type of injury Doncic suffered is about 35 days. 

The Lakers didn’t provide a timeline for Doncic’s expected return to the court. 

Three weeks from when Doncic suffered the hamstring injury was April 23, which would be around Games 3 or 4 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff matchup.

A timeline closer to 35 days, let alone six weeks, would likely take Doncic out of the Lakers’ entire first-round playoff series, even if it lasted seven games.

“I just know that he’s gonna do everything he can to try to be back,” coach JJ Redick said. “I talked to him Friday, I talked to him again [on Saturday], I talked to him again [Sunday] morning. He’s going to go through all the necessary things to be back at some point, and it’s our job again to extend the season so both those guys can get back.”

Redick said internal medical data didn’t show any signs of overuse for Doncic or Reaves, who’s sidelined with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, before their injuries. 

Both grabbed at their respective injured areas during the first quarter of Thursday’s game but played through the third quarter before Doncic left the matchup with his hamstring injury and Reaves was subbed out. 

“As a coach, you go on the information you have,” Redick said.

“[Reaves] was medically cleared. When Austin came back, I asked directly, I thought he was hurt. [I was told], ‘No, he’s medically cleared.’ The group wanted to go for it in the second half. Talked about it at halftime. And I think for both those guys, the nature of playing heavy minutes, that’s certainly a part of any equation when you’re trying to manage workloads.

“We also rely on the tracking data, and we’re looking at that after every game. And there have been a few times this year where it’s gone away from the standard deviation of whatever their baseline is, and we make the proper adjustments. There was nothing leading into that game that would suggest either those guys were ‘running hot’ as we call it.”

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For the third and final time this regular season, the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors face each other. They have split the first two games of the season series, with the road team getting the victory in each contest. Sunday’s game will also mark the potential return of Steph Curry.

The two-time NBA MVP is listed as questionable ahead of the game. He has missed more than two months of action due to a runner’s knee condition. He will likely be under a minutes restriction, while the Rockets enter the matchup on a five-game win streak.

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Preview, Starting Lineups Tonight, Betting Tips and Game Prediction

Odds

Moneyline: Rockets (-165) vs. Warriors (+135)

Spread: Rockets -3.5 (-113) vs. Warriors +3.5 (-106)

Total (O/U): O225.5 (-110), U225.5 (-110)

Note: The odds could change before tipoff.

Betting Tips

• Bet on Kevin Durant to go OVER (-113) 24.5 points. He has scored at least 25 points in three of his last five games.
• Place your money on Steph Curry to score at least 20 points, going OVER (-112). He’s coming back from a two-month absence, so he’ll be under a minutes restriction.
• Alperen Sengun has an over/under of 18.5 points. He has scored 19 points or more three times in his last five. Bet on him to go OVER (-113).

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Preview

The Rockets (48-29) are getting hot at the right time, gaining a lot of momentum heading into the postseason. They have a chance to improve their seeding, especially after the LA Lakers lost Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to muscle-related injuries for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, the Warriors (36-41) are on a three-game losing streak. They receive a huge boost in Steph Curry, but they are unlikely to get homecourt advantage for the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Starting Lineups Tonight

Rockets

G – Reed Sheppard | G – Amen Thompson | F – Kevin Durant | F – Jabari Smith Jr. | C – Alperen Sengun

Warriors

G – Steph Curry | G – Brandin Podziemski | F – Gui Santos | F – Draymond Green | C – Kristaps Porzingis

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Prediction

The Warriors have had the Rockets’ number since last season, including the playoffs. They are 8-6 against Houston, but it’s hard to see them winning on Sunday, even with Steph Curry.

Prediction: Rockets get the 114-107 win.