Lakers Were All But Guaranteed to Lose Game 6

Despite losing 103-96, it really seemed at one point that the Lakers could come back and win. However, if they were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in Game 5, the odds would have been insurmountable for Game 6.

During the game, guard Luka Doncic and forward LeBron James clearly suffered injuries that had an effect on them. Doncic suffered a gnarly back injury toward the end of the second half, and James had an MCL strain in the fourth quarter.

Both players wound up returning to the game. Doncic had 28 points, nine assists, and seven total rebounds while James recorded 22 points, seven total rebounds, and six assists.

However, these injuries came with a cost. According to a report from Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, James' strain will take three to five weeks to recover. And there has been no word on how long it will take for Doncic to recover.

Additionally, shooting guard Austin Reaves has reportedly been playing through a toe injury that was worsened in Game 3. Needless to say, without their three top scorers, Los Angeles would have been dead in the water.

"Between James’ knee injury, Luka Doncic’s back injury and an unreported multi-week toe injury Austin Reaves was playing through in the final two games of the series, the Lakers would’ve been pretty banged up if they had forced a Game 6," Woike said.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN was in agreement, also noting that James would not have been able to play, ending his impressive NBA streak.

"Had the Lakers extended their series with the Wolves for Game 6 tonight in Minnesota, they would be without James and James’ record streak of 292 straight playoff games without sitting out would have been snapped," McMenamin said.

Now, it seems that Los Angeles's job is to lick its wounds and rebuild for the future. Whether that will have Luka and LeBron remains to be seen.

Latest Update on LeBron James is Very Concerning For Lakers

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