A Blog devoted to Lakers News, Commentary, and Analysis
The Lakers have had a history with many teams, including this year’s matchup in the Rockets. One might not think the Lakers and Rockets have any history together, but there is one surprising link between the two franchises. Pat Riley. Drafted by the San Diego Rockets in the 1967 NBA draft as the seventh pick […]
Welcome to the NBA playoffs. It is that time of year again, when teams chase the one main thing that they have built for all year. The NBA Championship! Some teams make it all the way to the end. Be it a dark horse or those expected to be there. At times, the team expected […]
An 82-game regular season packed with turbulence ended with 53 wins and the fourth seed in a brutal Western Conference race. Following a blowout of the tanking Utah Jazz, the Lakers playoff reward is home court advantage against the physically imposing Houston Rockets. Very few pundits give them a chance to compete in the series, […]
Start time and TV schedule Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets When: 5:30 p.m. PT, Apr. 18 Where: Crypto.com Arena Watch: ABC After months of grinding through the rigorous challenge that is the NBA regular season, the playoffs have arrived and the state of the Lakers has been more uncertain than ever. With Luka Dončić and Austin […]
The Lakers have a tall task in front of them, trying to beat the Rockets with their biggest stars, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, out indefinitely. With Luka dealing with a hamstring strain and Reaves out with a Grade 2 oblique strain, the team doesn’t expect either to be available for the first round. However, […]
With the playoffs set to begin, LeBron James once again finds himself in a familiar role, trying to lead his team to postseason success. One aspect that is new and unfamiliar, however, is his contract status with his team whenever the year concludes. LeBron is entering the final year of his deal with the Lakers […]
With the dust settled on the regular season, the Lakers now turn their attention to the playoffs and their first- round matchup with the Houston Rockets. Despite having a better record and home-court advantage over their Western Conference counterpart, Los Angeles is projected to be a large underdog in the series. That’s the harsh reality of […]
Unfortunately for the Lakers, there hasn’t been much positive injury news regarding their two biggest stars, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Both missed the last five games of the regular season and have been ruled out indefinitely. Reaves is dealing with a Grade 2 oblique strain with a timetable of 4-6 weeks, and Dončić is […]
With the Lakers set to begin their playoff run, now is a perfect time as any to unpack a question that’s nearly as old as basketball itself… What matters more: offense or defense? There are clichés such as “offense wins games and defense wins championships” that have been used for ages, but what’s the actual […]
The minute both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves were diagnosed with their respective grade-two muscle injuries, the Lakers immediately became the team every other Western Conference playoff entrant wanted to face. JJ Redick said as much at the end of the regular season and no amount of medical treatment – whether here or in Spain […]
There’s at least one bit of bright light at the end of the Lakers’ season. On Thursday, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Luka Dončić, as well as Cade Cunningham, both would be eligible for awards after winning their respective Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge cases in regards to the 65-game rule. Luka’s case centered around him […]
Let’s rewind the clock back to last summer. Deandre Ayton showed up to his Lakers introductory press conference, ecstatic to join the franchise. He spoke about how excited he was to play with Luka Dončić and how he wanted to prove his critics wrong with a bounce-back year in Los Angeles. Well, the revenge tour […]
It may not be the biggest story of this Lakers season, but one of the highlights has been Bronny James’ development. He played in 42 games for LA and his best basketball came during the final games of the regular season, when the Lakers needed him to step up with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves […]
While a seven-game series is all about the first to four, not the first to one, there is added pressure on the Lakers to come out victorious in Game 1. Not only are they trying to protect home court, but they are undermanned, playing without Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić for the immediate future. Many […]
Now that the Lakers are set to play the Rockets in the playoffs, LA can focus on just one opponent and game plan for them. The good news for the Lakers is that they won the regular-season series against Houston 2-1. The obvious bad news is that they’ll have to play without Austin Reaves and […]
The Lakers are going into the playoffs with few expectations. Injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves leave them in an unenviable position. While they secured the No. 4 seed, they’ll limp into the playoffs as a clear underdog. Predictably, no one is picking the Lakers to win. On Monday, ESPN’s writers selected winners for […]
The injuries to Lakers stars Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves brought a cloud of uncertainty. Neither player has a set timeline for their return and they have many more questions than answers about their status. When it comes to Reaves specifically, after the initial news of his diagnosis, there has been little other updates or […]
The Lakers started their week of preparation leading up to Saturday’s Game 1 meeting with the Rockets with the question on everyone’s mind. When will Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves return? Head coach JJ Redick fielded that question for the first of what will be many times on Tuesday and had a definitive, if not […]
Welcome to the 2026 play-in tournament! This is the sixth season of the play-in. History of the NBA play-in tournament The play-in tournament technically started in the bubble in the 2019-20 season. It differs from the current form, but the first game was the Grizzlies vs. the Trail Blazers. Portland went on to win and […]
While the Sparks did not have a first round pick, they did make a handful of selections in the second and third round in Monday’s 2026 WNBA Draft. With the No. 20 pick, the Sparks selected Ta’Niya Latson from South Carolina. Here is the pre-draft analysis of Latson from Charlie Creme of ESPN. Latson was […]
Luka Dončić’s trip to Spain has brought with it a lack of clarity. With no real precedent of a player going there during the season and no firm idea on a timetable for a return, there isn’t much known about what’s going on and when he could be back. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, […]
In their final regular season game, the Lakers routed a tanking Utah Jazz team for their 53rd win, the most for the franchise since 2010-11. All the machinations of surviving a grueling 82 games are over and the brain trust now shifts its focus towards the playoffs. The unfortunate injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin […]
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. With Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves out to start their postseason run, the Lakers won’t have many believers. […]
After an exhausting, long NBA season, it was nice to go about Sunday’s game stress-free. There were some stakes involved as the Lakers could still finish either the third or fourth seed. However, LA pretty quickly took control of the game and moved into cruise control as early as the start of the second half. […]
And just like that, the 2025-26 NBA regular season has come to an end. The Lakers battled injuries and are currently playing without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but thanks to some great games from LeBron James, they’ve managed to earn the fourth seed in the West. Now, they are set to play the Rockets […]