The Los Angeles Lakers lost more than just a basketball game to their longtime rivals, the Boston Celtics, on Saturday. The Lakers‘ eight-game winning streak came to a halt following the 111-101 defeat, and LeBron James suffered a groin injury that is going to change things in the short term for Los Angeles.
This groin injury does not seem to be as serious as the one James suffered during a Christmas Day game in 2018; the 40-year-old missed a month due to that injury. However, this strain will cost James some time — and the Lakers have some tough games coming up as they try to claim the #2 seed in the Western Conference.
Austin Reaves: Lakers have adopted a “next man up” mentality
Lakers guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will have to step up in James’ absence, which could stretch to two weeks and encompass games against recent NBA champions in the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks. Reaves though told reporters that the Lakers will band together in light of James’ setback and try to get back on the winning path.
“We’ve had many situations where a player deals with some type of injury or a trade or whatever it is, and we’ve done a really good job of bouncing back,” Reaves said. “And I don’t expect anything else. It’s a next-man-up mentality. Not one person’s gonna do what LeBron does for us. But you can do it as a collective. Hopefully, he gets back out on the court soon.”
Reaves, who recently recovered from a calf strain, is enjoying the best season of his four-year career, averaging 18.8 points per game on 44 percent shooting. Doncic too is heating up at the right time; he scored 34 points against the defending champion Celtics and is averaging 24.7 points across his 11 games representing the Lakers.
Los Angeles knows it will not catch the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the West, but the Lakers remain tied in the loss column with the Nuggets for the conference’s second seed. They will have to hold off strong challenges from the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets, and even the resurgent Golden State Warriors in order to keep their place or move up; and without James’ Hall of Fame services, the task becomes a little tougher for rookie head coach J.J. Redick.
