Latest news and updates about the Lakers
Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers April 18, 2026 Location: crypto.com arena, Los Angeles, CA TV:ABC Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español) Online: ABC/ESPN? Time: 7:30 PM CST Probable Starting Lineups Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun Lakers: Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Jake Laravia, Lebron James, […]
After two brutal injury blows to end the season, the Lakers are on the other end of the pendulum this time. Prior to Saturday’s Game 1 against the Rockets, Houston head coach Ime Udoka said Kevin Durant would be out for the contest. KD had been listed as questionable with a right knee contusion, an […]
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 […]
This is a lose-lose series for the Houston Rockets. If the Rockets win the series, then the narrative will be that the Los Angeles Lakers were hurt and of course the Rockets won. If Houston loses the series, they were frauds all along and will need to make wholesale changes this summer to retool around […]
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 […]
There’s a whole other article here that’s tempting to write. Several, even. How about “If the Rockets lose to the Lakers, Ime Udoka should be on the hot seat”? That is a position that could easily be justified. Luka Doncic is out for Game 1, and questionable for Game 2. Austin Reaves is questionable for […]
The NBA playoffs are finally upon us, and that means one thing: it’s time to place every team in arbitrary tiers made by yours truly. First, we need to reiterate one thing. In any given year, only a handful of teams have legitimate shots at the title, as history’s shown that teams need a player […]
Happy NBA Playoff week! With the first round Rockets-Lakers series tipping off Saturday night, I figured it would be a good time to highlight three things I am looking forward to going into this series, and hopefully many series after! (Disclaimer: the items on this list are in no order, and are my personal hopes!) […]
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 […]
On Saturday April 18th at 7:30 PM CST, the world will be tuning on to watch two of the greatest players of all-time square off in the postseason for the fourth time in the careers of Kevin Durant and LeBron James. All week the talking heads have been discussing the matchup, and the main focus […]
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 […]
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 NBA Playoffs are coming up quickly now that the regular season is over. The Rockets came in fifth, therefore they will play the Los Angeles Lakers, who came in fourth, in a best-of-seven series. The higher-seeded team (Los Angeles) will host the first two games, as usual. After that, the series will go to […]
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 […]
This video is an attempt to put Cooper Flagg’s rookie season in context, and it makes some interesting points, particularly statistically. The narrator compliments Kon Knueppel, but argues that Flagg’s season has been on a completely different level. He compares his rookie season to what LeBron James did in his first year in the league, […]
Alas, the 2026 NBA postseason is upon us. It took a while to get here. About six months, in totality. The regular season was an entertaining one, for sure. Let’s not get that mistaken, however, it became a war of attrition, on many fronts. Some teams limped across the finish line. The Los Angeles Lakers […]