A Blog devoted to Lakers News, Commentary, and Analysis
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 […]
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 […]
It may not be the biggest story of this Lakers season, but one of the highlights has been Bronny James’ development. He played in 42 games for LA and his best basketball came during the final games of the regular season, when the Lakers needed him to step up with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves […]
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 […]
For the second year running, the Lakers will enter the playoffs with home court advantage. Unfortunately, the odds of this series playing out better than the last remain low. The Rockets await the Lakers this postseason, but the LA side they will meet is a much different one than the one they played during the […]
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 […]
Welcome to the 2026 play-in tournament! This is the sixth season of the play-in. History of the NBA play-in tournament The play-in tournament technically started in the bubble in the 2019-20 season. It differs from the current form, but the first game was the Grizzlies vs. the Trail Blazers. Portland went on to win and […]
While the Sparks did not have a first round pick, they did make a handful of selections in the second and third round in Monday’s 2026 WNBA Draft. With the No. 20 pick, the Sparks selected Ta’Niya Latson from South Carolina. Here is the pre-draft analysis of Latson from Charlie Creme of ESPN. Latson was […]
Luka Dončić’s trip to Spain has brought with it a lack of clarity. With no real precedent of a player going there during the season and no firm idea on a timetable for a return, there isn’t much known about what’s going on and when he could be back. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, […]
In their final regular season game, the Lakers routed a tanking Utah Jazz team for their 53rd win, the most for the franchise since 2010-11. All the machinations of surviving a grueling 82 games are over and the brain trust now shifts its focus towards the playoffs. The unfortunate injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin […]
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. With Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves out to start their postseason run, the Lakers won’t have many believers. […]
After an exhausting, long NBA season, it was nice to go about Sunday’s game stress-free. There were some stakes involved as the Lakers could still finish either the third or fourth seed. However, LA pretty quickly took control of the game and moved into cruise control as early as the start of the second half. […]
And just like that, the 2025-26 NBA regular season has come to an end. The Lakers battled injuries and are currently playing without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but thanks to some great games from LeBron James, they’ve managed to earn the fourth seed in the West. Now, they are set to play the Rockets […]
Despite the Nuggets’ best efforts over the weekend, the Lakers will remain the No. 4 seed and play the Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The opening game between the teams will be on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. PT on ABC. Entering the weekend, the Lakers sat one game behind the […]
The Lakers closed the regular season with a 131-107 blowout victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. The team played the first half at full strength, but sat LeBron James and Luke Kennard for the second half. It mattered little as the Jazz are one of the sorrier teams of the season and had […]
Sometimes the best decision a franchise can make is also the easiest. The Sparks did just that by bringing back All-Star guard Kelsey Plum on Sunday for a deal less than the supermax, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. Plum had the option to sign up to a $1.4 million deal but chose to […]
The final roster spot for the Lakers will be used for one of their own and no big last-minute splash signing. On Sunday morning, Shams Charania of ESPN reported Nick Smith Jr. and the Lakers had agreed to a two-year deal. Smith has spent the season on a two-way contract in LA. The Lakers opened […]
What’s clear based on the Sparks’ offseason moves is that they are focused on winning now. After bringing back Nneka Ogwumike and re-signing Dearica Hamby, they agreed to a trade on Sunday to send Rickea Jackson to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Ariel Atkins, as reported by Alexa Philippou of ESPN. This trade was […]
The long NBA season comes to an end on Sunday with the Lakers (52-29) taking on the tanking Jazz (22-59) on Sunday evening. Los Angeles has won the three previous meetings with Utah this season and is looking for the season sweep. Start time and TV schedule Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz When: 5:30 p.m. PT, […]
After an exciting four-team battle for seeding in the Western Conference throughout the second half of the season, all but two teams are locked into their spot playoff spots heading into the final day. Results on Friday, namely Minnesota beating Houston, means that all that is up for grabs on Sunday is the No. 3 […]