About this episode

The episode discusses Luka Dončić's ongoing injury and the pressure on Austin Reaves as the Lakers face OKC in the playoffs.

The Lakers made it through Round 1 without Luka Dončić and for 2/3 of the series, without Austin Reaves. Against OKC in Round 2, they'll have Austin back, but Luka is nowhere near ready to play, still without a timetable and not doing anything approaching true on court work at speed. And given how fast this series will move -- it's an every other day affair -- there's a very good chance Luka won't be available for any of it. Even if it goes longer than anyone expects. That's how the Lakers are likely approaching things. Plus, they do need to be careful about rushing Luka back for a series that is potentially too far gone, and putting a full, robust offseason in jeopardy. Because the last thing the Lakers want is for this injury to linger. Meanwhile, the pressure will be on Austin Reaves to step up. The challenge is significant, and Reaves's splits this season against the Thunder are bad. But with a huge free agent summer coming, this is an important step for Reaves, to perform against an elite defense. Because this is the type of quality championship caliber players will face in the postseason. And at an expected $35-40 million, that's the expectation. Finally, this will be a…

People in this episode

Hosts: Andy Kamenetzky, Brian Kamenetzky

Topics covered

• Luka Dončić injury
• Austin Reaves performance
• NBA playoffs
• Lakers vs OKC
• pressure on players
• foul merchants

Keywords

• Luka Dončić
• Austin Reaves
• NBA playoffs
• Lakers
• OKC
• foul merchants
• pressure
• performance
• injury

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lakers, OKC, Locked On Podcast Network

More episodes of Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

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• Lakers are HUGE Underdogs against the Thunder. What Should this Mean to fans? · May 4, 2026 · 21 min

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