Suddenly, the Los Angeles Lakers’ season can be summed up by JAY-Z’s iconic “A Week Ago” line, “It was all good just a week ago.”
Now, the Lakers are in such a disadvantageous position that Dwight Howard is taking pity.
“[Let me know] if I need to come out of retirement,” Howard posted on X (formerly Twitter) alongside a photoshop of him in a No. 39 Lakers jersey.
Howard, 40, played for the Lakers twice (2012-13 and 2021-22) during his Hall of Fame 18-season NBA career. The eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year has not played since April 8, 2022. Howard officially announced his retirement on March 12.
Nice gesture.
Not what the Lakers want to hear right now.
Sure, last Saturday, the Lakers had just received news that All-NBA and All-Star guard Luka Doncic would be suspended for one game for his 16th technical foul of the season.
But Doncic served that suspension last Monday and was back by Wednesday — scoring 42 points and dishing 12 assists in a dominant 127-113 win over Cleveland. With that, the Lakers finished March with a 15-2 record, including a nine-game winning streak. Doncic’s production was on par with the likes of the late Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
Then, Doncic went down in a heap of pain during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 139-96 loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. He exited in the third quarter and did not return. On Friday, an MRI revealed Doncic had suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Doncic will be “out definitely,” writing, “He will miss the remainder of the regular season and his status is uncertain beyond that.”
That was bad enough for Lakers Nation. Somehow, it got worse.
On Saturday, the Lakers announced that starting guard Austin Reaves has a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury, which Charania reported will likely sideline Reaves for four to six weeks.
Doncic and Reaves have been the Lakers’ top two scorers, as perennial All-Star LeBron James has embraced a reduced offensive role in his NBA-record 23rd season.
Despite missing the Lakers’ final five regular-season games, Doncic will win his second career NBA scoring title. Reaves has averaged a career-high 23.3 points this season.
Los Angeles (50-27) will close out the regular season against Dallas (April 5), Oklahoma City (April 7), Golden State (April 9), Phoenix (April 10), and Utah (April 12). The Lakers lead Denver (50-28) by only half a game for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, though they hold the tiebreaker if it comes to that.
The NBA playoffs are set to start on April 18.
