May 11 marked the Lakers’ last game of the season. The Lakers lost to the reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, by getting swept at home in Los Angeles.
The Lakers’ road to the Western Conference semifinals was bumpy to say the least.
The Lakers had a good regular season, finishing fourth in the Western Conference finals with a 53-29 record, but towards the end of the season, the Lakers began to get injured.
On April 2, the Lakers played the Oklahoma City Thunder, and in this game, two players went down. The first player to go down was shooting guard Austin Reeves. In the first quarter, while Reeves was trying to retrieve the ball on a rebound, he suffered a grade two left oblique strain. Then, later in the game, Luka Doncic would go out. In the third quarter, while trying to drive to the paint against Oklahoma Guard Jalen Williams, Luka would suffer a grade two left hamstring injury.
Austin Reeves was able to return later in the month in the playoffs on April 29 in game five of the Western Conference first round against the Houston Rockets. In this game, Austin Reaves put up great numbers in his games back with 22 points, 6 assists, and four rebounds. Even though there was a great performance from Austin Reeves, it was not good enough to win the game, with the Lakers losing 99-93. The Lakers did end up winning the next game to take the series 4-2.
After this game, it became the Lakers’ downfall.
In game one of the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers lost 108-90. In the second quarter of the game, Jared Vanderbilt suffered a gruesome injury, dislocating his pinky finger. Before leaving the game, he had two points. The Lakers did do an exceptional job at holding Shai Gilgeous Alexander to under twenty points, but that’s just not good enough to win when facing the best team in the NBA.
In the second game of this series, the Lakers lost 125-107. The Lakers carried the lead heading into the half, but crumbled in the second. Austin Reaves put up a great number, putting up 31 points, and LeBron scored 23. This game was a milestone for LeBron. This game was his 300th career playoff game. Lebron James has the most playoff games played in NBA history.
In game three, the Lakers returned home to Crypto.com Arena. Once again, the Lakers held it down through the first half, going into the second half with a two-point lead. The Lakers’ leading scorer in this game was Rui Hachimura. Rui was phenomenal this playoff run over the ten games. Hachimura averages 17.5 points per game. The Lakers would once again crumble in the second half and lose 131-108.
Game four was the Lakers’ final chance to win a game to avoid elimination. In game four, the Lakers played phenomenal basketball, holding it together the whole game. In this game, both teams had crazy games. Shai had his best performance of the series, scoring 35 points, and Ajay Mitchel had 28 points. From the Lakers, Lebron James had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Reaves scored 27 points, and just behind him was Rui Hachimura with 25 points. This game came down to the final minutes.
With the last two minutes, the Lakers were down six; the score was 103-109. Lebron attempted to shoot a three-pointer over Isiah Harestien but missed. Rui would get the board and hit a clutch three and get the and one, which would end up being a four-point play. The Lakers would get another, and one play with 42 seconds left when Marcus Smart drove to the paint. This play gave the Lakers the one-point lead, 110-109. After this play, Chet Holmgreen would score the winning dunk, and the Lakers were unable to score, resulting in a loss, which got them swept, the final score being 110-115
Now that the Lakers’ season is done, it is unclear what the future holds for this Lakers team, with Lebron James and Rui Hachimura being free agents this upcoming offseason, and it is a mystery if Lebron James will continue playing after this season. Including Austin Reaves, DeAndre Ayton, and Marcus Smart, most likely going to opt out of their contracts.
I asked ERHS students what they think the Lakers should do to move forward.
Senior Aidan Lupian said, “If Reaves wants to stay, give him the minimum, and if he doesn’t get Giannis.”
“Sign Brandon Ingram, let go of Austin Reaves, sign Steven Adams, and resign Rui Hachimura, and I hope Lebron plays year twenty-four,” said ERHS senior Gabriel Canchola.
