2026 NBA Season

[tech30338]

Luka Doncic has been diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain. This injury typically keeps him out for 4-8 weeks.

The playoffs start in two weeks. Doncic will most likely miss the first round. There's a chance he might make it to the second round, but I think that's unlikely.

This is very bad news for Los Angeles. For Doncic, his chances of winning MVP this year are now gone.

Yep, this is really bad news for the Lakers. But as far as I know, players typically miss a little over a month with this type of injury. To be more precise, it takes players an average of 35 days to recover. So yes, Luka will most likely miss the first round of the playoffs, which means LeBron needs to take the initiative into his own hands.

This is bad news for the lakers as they are nearing playoffs and their main man is down, grade two is a bigger tear, but lets just hope that its just a speculations , although this might be true, this will hinder the lakers bid deep in the playoffs run, luka always getting injured when playoffs is near, the last time i know its the ankle, did JJ miscalculated and let luka play even though they know he is injured, i mean as a coach you should know the condition of the player, like luka, since his is now their franchise player.

[Maslate]

did JJ miscalculated and let luka play even though they know he is injured, i mean as a coach you should know the condition of the player, like luka, since his is now their franchise player.

No coach would do that, and it’s not just his decision alone. If a player is cleared to play, the coach will let him play. It’s not like the coach handles everything, they have a conditioning and medical team who know better in these situations.

So there’s really no one to blame here. Injuries happen, and it’s just unfortunate that it happened to Luka when he was playing really well.

Now with the playoffs about to start and Luka possibly out, the Lakers just have to deal with it. They need to focus on getting through the first round and hope Luka can come back by the second round.

[fullfitlarry]

did JJ miscalculated and let luka play even though they know he is injured, i mean as a coach you should know the condition of the player, like luka, since his is now their franchise player.

No coach would do that, and it’s not just his decision alone. If a player is cleared to play, the coach will let him play. It’s not like the coach handles everything, they have a conditioning and medical team who know better in these situations.

So there’s really no one to blame here. Injuries happen, and it’s just unfortunate that it happened to Luka when he was playing really well.

Now with the playoffs about to start and Luka possibly out, the Lakers just have to deal with it. They need to focus on getting through the first round and hope Luka can come back by the second round.

Yes, I do not think that JJ will put Luka's health at risk, and it looks like Luka is healthy until that time when he got injured.

So I don't think that somewhat, JJ is to blame here. It's just one of those freak accidents in basketball, and hamstring is one of the worst thing for a player of a Luka's caliber. Although James Harden also suffered this kind of injury in the past and it will really just have to take time to heal and be back normally.

[Cointxz]

Yes, I do not think that JJ will put Luka's health at risk, and it looks like Luka is healthy until that time when he got injured.

So I don't think that somewhat, JJ is to blame here. It's just one of those freak accidents in basketball, and hamstring is one of the worst thing for a player of a Luka's caliber. Although James Harden also suffered this kind of injury in the past and it will really just have to take time to heal and be back normally.

Agreed, there’s no way a coach can know when will an injury occur especially if the player is just playing within their average playing on their game. It’s a non contact injury which means Luka either feeling it without paying much attention on it or it just happened at that moment.

OKC is doing a great job defense on him that game so probably that heavy defense makes this injury occur.

I just hope he can comeback 100% on the playoffs or else this will be an early exit for Lakers.

[Japinat]

I just hope he can comeback 100% on the playoffs or else this will be an early exit for Lakers.

Based on the estimated weeks he’ll be out, as per reports, he’s not likely to play in the first round. The bigger question now is whether they can still win that round without him.

We’ve seen something like this before when he was still with Dallas, Brunson stepped up and they managed to get through to the second round, so it’s possible. But for the Lakers, the question is who’s going to take that role now, especially since LeBron isn’t the same anymore and can’t carry everything like he used to.

[tabas]

Luka getting injured in that game was a huge factor. If it’s a hamstring issue, he could be out for a few weeks, which is really bad timing with the playoffs coming up.
It looks like bad news overall, especially after the Lakers were building momentum with that winning streak and then this happens.

How long is the regular season? Because it's said that he's going to miss the remainder of the regular season. When everyone is cheering him up to get this season's MVP, this happened. Truly a bad timing not just for the Lakers but also for himself. We don't know if he'll recover fast but there are also some other stars who have got this type of injury and what we can do is to simply hope that he'll get back on his shape and will have that complete recovery. It's all that we can ask and pray for Luka whether you're a fan or not, you like him or not.

The season is over in 9 days. It looks likely that Luka will probably be out to start the playoffs as well. Hopefully LeBron and co can take care of round 1 and give Luka some extra rest time.

I agree. That might be enough time for Luka to heal, with that period it's a serious time for each of the key players of Lakers to take care of the games while Luka is on a rest.

But for the Lakers, the question is who’s going to take that role now, especially since LeBron isn’t the same anymore and can’t carry everything like he used to.

There's Reaves, Hachimura, Smart and Kleber. And as for the rookie, they have Knecht. These guys can switch roles just for adjustment.

[Ziskinberg]

There's Reaves, Hachimura, Smart and Kleber. And as for the rookie, they have Knecht. These guys can switch roles just for adjustment.

Reaves is probably the most reliable option they have right now to help carry the team, but he’s nowhere near Luka’s level. They can still stay competitive, I believe, but we also have to be realistic, without Luka the Lakers will likely struggle to make it to the second round.

LeBron is still great, no doubt about that, but we’ve already seen what he can contribute at this stage. He’s not as aggressive as he used to be, which is understandable with age, and he’s also getting close to retirement. At this point, he’s just chasing another championship to add to his legacy since individually he has already achieved so much.

But without Luka, that goal becomes much harder to reach.

[Stavri]

Luka Doncic has been diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain. This injury typically keeps him out for 4-8 weeks.

The playoffs start in two weeks. Doncic will most likely miss the first round. There's a chance he might make it to the second round, but I think that's unlikely.

This is very bad news for Los Angeles. For Doncic, his chances of winning MVP this year are now gone.

Yep, this is really bad news for the Lakers. But as far as I know, players typically miss a little over a month with this type of injury. To be more precise, it takes players an average of 35 days to recover. So yes, Luka will most likely miss the first round of the playoffs, which means LeBron needs to take the initiative into his own hands.

This is bad news for the lakers as they are nearing playoffs and their main man is down, grade two is a bigger tear, but lets just hope that its just a speculations , although this might be true, this will hinder the lakers bid deep in the playoffs run, luka always getting injured when playoffs is near, the last time i know its the ankle, did JJ miscalculated and let luka play even though they know he is injured, i mean as a coach you should know the condition of the player, like luka, since his is now their franchise player.

It's devastating that we won't get to watch Doncic in the playoffs. He’s had such a rough run over the past year, and now this on top of everything. He had just found his rhythm, too. When things start going south, it really feels like everything goes wrong at once.

Btw hamstring injuries are a real nightmare. You absolutely shouldn't play until you're fully recovered. This was exactly why players like Kevin Durant and Haliburton ended up tearing their Achilles. it’s not the kind of thing you should sacrifice yourself for.

[jakdanyel]

Earlier I said there was a potential of winning 5 of their remaining 6 games in regular season. To reach 55 wins I mean. But now I don't think it will happen anymore.

That injury of Luka looks really bad...    I just hope they at least make sure he secures 65 games to be able to qualify for seasonal awards. If he doesn't return until playoffs then that's it for Lakers!

[sana54210]

I just hope he can comeback 100% on the playoffs or else this will be an early exit for Lakers.

Based on the estimated weeks he’ll be out, as per reports, he’s not likely to play in the first round. The bigger question now is whether they can still win that round without him.

We’ve seen something like this before when he was still with Dallas, Brunson stepped up and they managed to get through to the second round, so it’s possible. But for the Lakers, the question is who’s going to take that role now, especially since LeBron isn’t the same anymore and can’t carry everything like he used to.

There are twitter "influencer" type of people who are doctors and diagnose or help with estimates for sports people based on reports. Now they are not the doctors of these players, they are just estimating based on the players situation that was reported, so they have limited info, but when you say "grade 2 hamstring strain" they know what that means and can have an estimate.

The estimate is that he can technically come back in 3 weeks, and that's not bad at all, but that would put him at risk, that would not be good and he could be having trouble or even injure worse. Reasonable is 6 weeks, that would be 100%, but at that time first round would be over and most probably Lakers would be out of first round if he is out, and even if he comes back on second round, coming back from injury like that and straight to playoffs would be near impossible for him.

[rbynxx]

What a game in Ball Arena! It sends to overtime with both Jokic and Wemby showing MVP things.

[OgNasty]

Lakers shut Austin Reeves down for the season with an injury. It’s up to LeBron now.

[tabas]

There's Reaves, Hachimura, Smart and Kleber. And as for the rookie, they have Knecht. These guys can switch roles just for adjustment.

Reaves is probably the most reliable option they have right now to help carry the team, but he’s nowhere near Luka’s level. They can still stay competitive, I believe, but we also have to be realistic, without Luka the Lakers will likely struggle to make it to the second round.

LeBron is still great, no doubt about that, but we’ve already seen what he can contribute at this stage. He’s not as aggressive as he used to be, which is understandable with age, and he’s also getting close to retirement. At this point, he’s just chasing another championship to add to his legacy since individually he has already achieved so much.

But without Luka, that goal becomes much harder to reach.

That's true, if it's comparing both players Austin and Luka, we know that Luka can carry a team. While for Reaves, he's a good support and back up for the team. I think if it's with Lebron, he's going to be the leader and play maker and not the scoring machine. He can let that work on for the younger ones while him leading the team on how to play against their opponents. But let's see, if Luka will come back once he's healed when the important games have come.

[rbynxx]

Lakers shut Austin Reeves down for the season with an injury. It’s up to LeBron now.

Saw the news, it's really up to the seasoned rookie now. The Reaves injury might be worst than that of Luka in terms of days. Really worst post season news for Lakers fan out there for a first round exit but let's see. Well, they can enjoy the summer vacation in Boracay or Palawan if they want to.

[EFS]

It was a great game, the Nuggets won in overtime. It felt more like a play-off game than a regular season one. Both teams are really strong, but the Nuggets were slightly better today. They played better in final minutes. Wemby looked exhausted after playing 40 minutes, he usually plays around 30, so he's not really ready for longer games.
As for the MVP race, Jokic once again proved he's ahead of Wemby. Hopefully they don't rob him second time.

It looks like the Nuggets will pass the Lakers and become third seed. If the Lakers play without Doncic and Reaves, the Rockets would knock them out in the first round.

[Fredomago]

There's Reaves, Hachimura, Smart and Kleber. And as for the rookie, they have Knecht. These guys can switch roles just for adjustment.

Reaves is probably the most reliable option they have right now to help carry the team, but he’s nowhere near Luka’s level. They can still stay competitive, I believe, but we also have to be realistic, without Luka the Lakers will likely struggle to make it to the second round.

LeBron is still great, no doubt about that, but we’ve already seen what he can contribute at this stage. He’s not as aggressive as he used to be, which is understandable with age, and he’s also getting close to retirement. At this point, he’s just chasing another championship to add to his legacy since individually he has already achieved so much.

But without Luka, that goal becomes much harder to reach.

That's true, if it's comparing both players Austin and Luka, we know that Luka can carry a team. While for Reaves, he's a good support and back up for the team. I think if it's with Lebron, he's going to be the leader and play maker and not the scoring machine. He can let that work on for the younger ones while him leading the team on how to play against their opponents. But let's see, if Luka will come back once he's healed when the important games have come.

LeBron needs to carry the load while both Luka and Austin are resting, just like what you mentioned in terms of carrying Luka already made that before with role players who can connect with the type of his game he'll be able to manage to push the team to the limits, hopefully he'll be back as they've got better chances to move forward if he and the rest of the Lakers will jive their game together and win their way to reach the finals.

[Oasisman]

LeBron needs to carry the load while both Luka and Austin are resting, just like what you mentioned in terms of carrying Luka already made that before with role players who can connect with the type of his game he'll be able to manage to push the team to the limits, hopefully he'll be back as they've got better chances to move forward if he and the rest of the Lakers will jive their game together and win their way to reach the finals.

IF Reaves and Luka will miss the 1st round of the 2026 playoffs, realistically speaking, the Lakers are as good as done. There's no way a 41-year-old LeBron can carry a team as he did with the Cavs before, not to mention against a team that swept them last year. Not unless, IF the whole bench miraculously becomes efficient in the playoffs, starts hitting open shots, gets energized along with Smart and Vando's defensive hustles. That's the only exemption I can think of, and they need to be consistently doing it for the rest of the series.
I think this is also the perfect time for Luke Kennard to start jacking up a lot of 3s.

[Dave1]

It was a great game, the Nuggets won in overtime. It felt more like a play-off game than a regular season one. Both teams are really strong, but the Nuggets were slightly better today. They played better in final minutes. Wemby looked exhausted after playing 40 minutes, he usually plays around 30, so he's not really ready for longer games.
As for the MVP race, Jokic once again proved he's ahead of Wemby. Hopefully they don't rob him second time.

It looks like the Nuggets will pass the Lakers and become third seed. If the Lakers play without Doncic and Reaves, the Rockets would knock them out in the first round.

Also battle of the MVP candidates, not only did Wemby looks exhausted, he also looks frustrated specially if he can't get the block. And so it's a playoff atmosphere and as what we have said before, experience will be the key if both teams are good.

Yeah, if there are no Luka and Reaves then gonna be an easy series for the Nuggets as they are healthy and just peaking at the right time. So we might be looking at Thunder and the Nuggets going at it for the Western conference finals.

[tech30338]

It was a great game, the Nuggets won in overtime. It felt more like a play-off game than a regular season one. Both teams are really strong, but the Nuggets were slightly better today. They played better in final minutes. Wemby looked exhausted after playing 40 minutes, he usually plays around 30, so he's not really ready for longer games.
As for the MVP race, Jokic once again proved he's ahead of Wemby. Hopefully they don't rob him second time.

It looks like the Nuggets will pass the Lakers and become third seed. If the Lakers play without Doncic and Reaves, the Rockets would knock them out in the first round.

Also battle of the MVP candidates, not only did Wemby looks exhausted, he also looks frustrated specially if he can't get the block. And so it's a playoff atmosphere and as what we have said before, experience will be the key if both teams are good.

Yeah, if there are no Luka and Reaves then gonna be an easy series for the Nuggets as they are healthy and just peaking at the right time. So we might be looking at Thunder and the Nuggets going at it for the Western conference finals.

The lakers are now in trouble since there will be 2 players that might be sideline for the remaining games of the season and the team need to overcome the first round this is why positioning is the key, Nuggets are alive and making a late push in the playoffs position, great win by the nuggets and jokic shot against wemby is epic, maybe its not a great game for wemby or he is not doing well in this game, but for sure there will be adjustments in the playoffs, who do you think will have an early exit?

[Stavri]

It was a great game, the Nuggets won in overtime. It felt more like a play-off game than a regular season one. Both teams are really strong, but the Nuggets were slightly better today. They played better in final minutes. Wemby looked exhausted after playing 40 minutes, he usually plays around 30, so he's not really ready for longer games.
As for the MVP race, Jokic once again proved he's ahead of Wemby. Hopefully they don't rob him second time.

It looks like the Nuggets will pass the Lakers and become third seed. If the Lakers play without Doncic and Reaves, the Rockets would knock them out in the first round.

Actually, that's the only way the Rockets advance in the playoffs. matching up against the Lakers without Doncic and moving on to the next round.

By the way, Jokic will probably finish the 2025-26 season averaging a triple double and leading the league in both rebounds and assists. Let's see if he can snag the MVP. Personally, i think SGA has a big advantage on that because team he is on is like a machine.