The Los Angeles Lakers have spent much of the season searching for continuity, only to see it repeatedly interrupted by injuries that refuse to ease up.
With key contributors missing yet again, head coach JJ Redick struck a measured tone, framing the constant lineup disruption not as an excuse, but as an ongoing reality the team must continue to navigate.
In the latest iteration of what has become a weekly ritual, the Lakers entered Saturday’s game without Austin Reaves (left calf), Luka Doncic (left groin soreness), and several other rotation stalwarts, forcing Redick to improvise yet again. The result was a 16-point defeat that underscored just how much the Lakers’ blueprint has been derailed by an ever-shifting injury report.
Redick has endeavored to keep the team’s mindset intact, refusing to let the mounting setbacks dictate the Lakers’ identity.
“We don’t go into games thinking tonight is gonna be rough, or we can’t win,” he said after the loss, framing what would be a daunting challenge for most teams as simply “been our season.”
Injury overload reshapes Lakers’ rotation
The Lakers’ injury list currently spans multiple fronts. Doncic, the reigning league scoring leader, has been ruled out due to left groin soreness, and Reaves remains sidelined with a left calf strain that could keep him out for several weeks.
Veteran big men like Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes were also listed as questionable ahead of the game, forcing Redick to start Maxi Kleber at center and lean heavily on bench contributors like Drew Timme and Kobe Bufkin.
The latest blow compounds what has been an early-season saga of key absences. Reaves’ calf issue flared multiple times in December, after returning from a previous stint on the shelf, and the forward was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain that could sideline him for a month.
Meanwhile, Doncic had already been managing his groin concern through a stretch of 11 games before being deemed unavailable for the Portland matchup.
Another hall-of-fame-level name has spent significant time managing his body this season: 40-year-old LeBron James missed the first portion of the campaign with a persistent sciatica nerve issue and has been on a cautious plan ever since.
Redick said the organization has been careful with James’ reintegration, particularly in back-to-back games, in hopes of managing risk over the long haul.
Redick navigates adversity while defending core philosophy
Despite the hurdles, Redick has repeatedly stood by his team’s internal culture and approach.
After a trio of blowout defeats around Christmas, he convened a team meeting to emphasize “recalibration and reconnection,” focusing on defensive clarity, role definition, and offensive cohesion.
“Priority number one for me, role clarity,” he explained, acknowledging that integrating James back into the lineup has presented its own set of challenges.
