LeBron James Needs One More Miracle To Carry Lakers Without Doncic, Reaves

Drew Thirion|published: Thu 16th April, 09:37 2026

Jan 13, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) wears a patch affixed to the upper right chest to celebrate his record-setting 23rd NBA season during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers head coach, JJ Reddick, announced that both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are still out indefinitely, and did not give a timeline for either’s return.

It’s a shame that neither play will likely be available in the first round, as the Lakers looked like they were finally figuring out how to play with LeBron James in a less ball-dominant role. In his age-41 season, it was interesting to see how Reddick was able to get LeBron involved as a cutter on offense and even get him to buy in more on defense.

However, as has been the case through large portions of LeBron’s career, he will have to bear a heavy burden of his team's production if they want to pull off a first-round upset over the Houston Rockets.

They’ve done a solid job steadying the boat after Doncic and Reaves went down on 4/2, going 3-2 to close out the season and lock in the four seed. LeBron excelled over that stretch, but against an athletic Rockets defense, who else can step up in the series?

The biggest problem? There’s no Robin to LeBron’s Batman left and healthy on this roster. This entire team is loaded with role players and needs to work off a ball-dominant distributor. LeBron James has to tap into his younger self one last time, and I honestly think that’s what he can and will do.

Entering the playoffs, this is the worst supporting cast around James since the 2018 Cavs. LeBron went on to have his most impressive playoff run in his career that season, and wouldn’t it be perfect for the league if LeBron had one more run in him?

The Lakers do have the best matchup available to let this happen. The Rockets have been an inconsistent offensive squad, and getting reliable, efficient offense outside of Kevin Durant has been quite difficult for Houston.

Also, without Steven Adams, the Rockets lack a physical presence in the paint, and LeBron should be able to get downhill and provide needed rim pressure for Los Angeles.

Even in his age-41 season, I’ll always think LeBron can reach that next level. Everyone is fading the Lakers in the first round, and I think I love betting them at +520 to win this first series. It’s not the same LeBron as years past, but never count that man out at any point until he’s fully out of the league.