Lakers get bad news on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves

The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the season in the worst possible way. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, their two leading scorers, fell with complicated injuries.

Doncic suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain, while Reaves suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain shortly after.

Even though there was some optimism that they would be available at some point in the first round of their playoff series against the Houston Rockets, that may no longer be the case.

According to ESPN insider Dave McMenamin, the Lakers haven't ruled them out for later in the playoffs, but the team would have to advance without them first.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are unlikely to play in Round 1

"And as they prepare for it, sources told ESPN they have no expectation of having either Doncic or Reaves back at any point in the first round. But they also have not completely ruled out the possibility of one or both of them becoming available the longer the series lasts," McMenamin wrote. 

The Lakers will host a Rockets team that struggled offensively at times. Their lack of a true point guard hurt their offensive flow, and they got stagnant late in games.

Nevertheless, even if J.J. Redick's team can force turnovers and put pressure at the point of attack, they would still have to generate enough offense to keep up with the Rockets.

LeBron James closed out the season on a high note, but he's 41 and will have to do most of the heavy lifting, and that may not be sustainable.

That said, he has a long history of postseason success and proving the doubters wrong, so anything is possible.