Lakers Secure First Win Since Doncic and Reaves’ Injuries; Kobe Bufkin Waived
LeBron puts the Lakers on his back and leads L.A. to a win vs the Golden State Warriors (119-103).
It’s been a long, down week for the Lakers. They’ve had two beatdowns at the hands of OKC, are down two stars due to injury, and have lost the 3rd seed to the Denver Nuggets (52-28). L.A. still holds the 4th seed as of today, and has the same record as the 5th-seeded Houston Rockets (51-29).
Despite the undesirable end to the season, the Lakers have now surpassed last year’s 50-win mark and have reached their best win total since the 2020 championship season.
Kobe Bufkin Waived
This morning, April 10th, the Lakers announced that they have waived Kobe Bufkin from the roster.
That gives the Lakers one extra roster spot to fill before heading into the playoffs.
The Lakers could look to add either of their two-way contracts, Nick Smith Jr. or Drew Timme.
LeBron’s Double-Double Leads Lakers Past Warriors
LeBron posted 26 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 11-17 shooting, 3-5 from three with 2 steals. Every starter, including James, scored in double figures. Hachimura had 12, LaRavia 16, Ayton 21, and Kennard with 14.
In the absence of Doncic and Reaves, Luke Kennard’s production has been a pleasant surprise. He’s been tasked with being the secondary ball handler, a role he’s not traditionally used to playing in, but his playmaking seems to come naturally. He racked up 8 assists against the Warriors and dropped his first career triple-double on Easter Sunday against the Mavs.
With Marcus Smart absent due to injury on top of Doncic and Reaves missing time, that leaves the Lakers’ playmaking duties up to James and Kennard.
Seeding Implications With Two Games Left
Every team in the NBA has two games left in the regular season. All 30 teams will play today (April 10th) and Sunday, April 12th. The Lakers will take on the Phoenix Suns, who will be without Devin Booker. LeBron is expected to play, and Marcus Smart will return to the lineup tonight. Hayes, Doncic, and Reaves remain out.
The Lakers, despite the three-game losing streak, are still in contention for the 3rd seed with these final two games. If the Nuggets lose just 1 of these next two games and the Lakers go 2-0, they secure 3rd. If the Lakers go 1-1, the Nuggets will have to go 0-2.
The lowest the Lakers can fall to is 5th.
Even if they don’t get 3rd, they still have an incentive to win these last couple of games to secure at least the 4th seed to lock in home court advantage for the playoffs.
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