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Once again, the Wizards offered little resistance on defense.

A couple nights ago the Philadelphia 76ers scored 153 in regulation over the little defense the Wizards offered. As the game today evolved the only interesting question seemed to be whether the Heat will break that threshold or not. At halftime, the Miami Heat were right on pace: scoring 77 points. If they could match that in the second half, they would arrive at 154!

Alas, the Wizards did not come out of the locker room after half-time with any more determination, as they ceded 45 points in the 3rd quarter alone. But maybe one of those patented “comebacks from behind” in the 4th quarter?

Nah, with 6 minutes left in the 4th, the scoreboard showed 118-140 for the hosts, as they were on pace to break the 153 threshold!

But, at last, the Wizards were able to keep the Heat to only 30 points in that final frame, and as the game ended the scoreboard proclaimed 136-152 in favor the Heat.

Some bright spots for the Wizards were:

Will Riley was the best starter in terms of plus/minus, with only -3. Actually, he played well. Made 12 of his 17 field goals, and scored 31 points in 37 minutes! It’s probably much thanks to him that the loss was only by 16 points.

Also, Sharife Cooper and Jamir Watkins were great in garbage time, with 20 (3-for-5 from deep) and 14 (2-for-4 from deep) points each.

For the Heat, Jaquez Jr. had 32 points in 32 minutes, off the bench! Did we already say candidate for 6th man of the year?

The Wizards now head to Brooklyn for another matinee game, tomorrow.

This week’s Dallas Mavericks centeric poll centered around the NCAA Men’s Final Four. Yes there’s still plenty of NBA basketball on (and perhaps you could and should go make a wager on NBA Rookie of the Year, now that Cooper Flagg has potentially recaptured momentum), but I think most of our fans are thinking ahead to the NBA Draft lottery and the draft itself.

Which means you’re considering prospects. And if the lottery goes chalk, there are a lot of guys playing this weekend that Dallas might consider. The first question asked about guards and who you were going to follow on Saturday and/or Monday.

This is within line of what I expected Keaton Wagler is a late riser and some that’s easy to get excited about when you watch his game. Brayden Burries is probably a safer pick given his skillset, but hes very exciting. I assume we have some UConn fans taking the poll as Braylon Mullens doesn’t do it for me.

The next question was about Final Four Big men. There were others I could’ve chosen, but these three seeemed to be the most well known.

I have to hope Mavs fans are watching Yaxel Lendeborg because he’s on a good team. I would be very upset if Dallas drafted a guy that’s four years and two months older than Cooper Flagg. Koa Peat is an interesting player, I’m not sure what he’s good at. Krivas is a wishlist guy for me, with that second first-round pick or a trade-up.

Then we get to these questions from the national poll, which you can also sign up for.

The first poll centered around the East’s Play-In teams. It seems that fans do not believe in any of them. A reasonable take.

This second question was asked before Luka Doncic got hurt. I think it’s too low. The awards are going to end up with weird ballots that don’t tell the story of the year. It’s silly.

This one’s also weird. Not sure why 6 in 10 fans think the NBA can incentivze differently than what’s already been done. Teams that want to lose will find a way to do so.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is reportedly out for the remainder of the season.

Reaves has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury and he will miss the Lakers' five remaining regular-season games, according to ESPN. The combo guard is expected to be out for four to six weeks, ESPN's Shams Charania reported.

Reaves has had his best season with the Lakers after joining the team as an undrafted rookie signing in 2021. In his fifth season in Los Angeles, Reaves averaged a career-high 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals. His shooting splits are 49% on field goals, 36% from three and 87% on free throws.

Reaves appeared in their most recent game, a 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. Reaves scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shots and 3-for-3 on free throws in 27 minutes in the loss. Los Angeles also lost their star guard, Luka Doncic, when he left the game and was later ruled out with a strained hamstring.

The Lakers' five remaining games of the 2025-26 regular season are against the Dallas Mavericks, Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.

Los Angeles has a 50-27 record and is currently at the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings to determine the playoff matchups. They are a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets. The NBA postseason begins April 14 with the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.

Reaves is expected to become an unrestricted free agent in July 2026.

The Lakers will be without their starting backcourt for the rest of the regular season — five more games — after Austin Reaves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique strain on Saturday.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves underwent an MRI exam on his left olbique/rib area.

The team learned earlier this week that Luka Doncic has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out for the remainder of the regular season — and perhaps beyond. Grade 2 strains often take four to six weeks to heal.

The Lakers are also dealing with an injury to guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last six games because of a right ankle contusion and will be sidelined for the game Sunday at Dallas.

“It's it's lingering soreness in the ankle,” Redick said.

Even with all of this, Redick said the Lakers’ “mission hasn’t changed.”

Read more:Luka Doncic's hamstring strain will keep him out for remainder of the regular season

“We want to get the third seed and we want to win a first-round series,” Redick said.

The Lakers are the third in the Western Conference, but Denver, Houston and Minnesota are within striking distance. The Lakers hold the tiebreaker over all three.

They'll try to hold on to the No. 3 seed over the final five games of the regular season without Doncic, who leads the NBA in scoring (33.5 points per game) and is fourth in assists (8.3), and Reaves, who is averaging 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

Each player was injured in the first half of a blowout loss on Thursday to Oklahoma City but returned to play in the second half.

“I know Luka's gonna do everything he can to get back on the court,” Redick said. “We don't know what this recovery timetable looks like."

The Lakers likely will have to lean more on LeBron James, a role the 41-year-old is more than willing to take on. James has been designated the third option behind Doncic and Reaves yet has still averaged 20.6 points per game, 6.9 assists and 6.0 rebounds in his 23rd season.

“It probably is going to look a little bit differently with Luka being out,” James said after practice. “I'll figure that out and then, obviously, the coaches will figure it out as well.”

The Lakers are making the mental adjustment of playing without Doncic. After the Mavericks, they'll have tough games against Oklahoma City, Golden State and Phoenix before finishing against lowly Utah on April 12.

“I mean, it’s a challenge for us,” James said. “It’s always got to be a next-man-up [mentality]. But there’s no way you can replace that type of impact. So, it's going to be a collective group. We all have to figure out a way to do a little bit more. But even now, you got to be even more tightened up on the things that we do. When you lose a special player like that, you can't have as many mistakes. So, we got to figure that out.”

For Redick, speaking for the first time since news of Doncic’s injury, he had to check on the temperature of his team to make sure his group was in the right space.

The practice Saturday on the campus of Southern Methodist helped.

“I think making sure that everybody's in the right frame of mind, first of all, and then you know we worked on just offensive stuff, just cleaning up some stuff and being really explicit with what we want to run,” Redick said. “Did some offensive breakdown. It was definitely more of an offensive day.

"We did work on defense to start the practice, but that's again that's the primary sort of focus. How do we score, how do we score efficiently, and our defense again is, it's we're interchangeable. We've been interchangeable now for two-and-a half-months.”

James controversy

James created a bit of controversy when he said on “Bob Does Sports” YouTube video that Memphis should relocate to Nashville.

“I’m not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. We all like, ‘You guys have to move. Just go over to Nashville," James said.

James, when asked if he wanted to clarify his remarks, then mentioned Milwaukee also as one of his least favorite cities.

“I said Milwaukee as well,” James said. “I’m 41 years old (and) there's two cities I do not like playing in right now — and that's Milwaukee and that's Memphis. What is your problem with it? I don't like going home [to Cleveland,] either. … And I'm from there. People are ridiculous. They also get mad at my son [Bronny James] being on the [Lakers] team, too.

"So, what are we talking about? People need to figure out other ways to put their energy to other things that's important. Like, seriously? I'm not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis. I don't like staying at the Hyatt Centric [hotel]. What's wrong with that? Nothing. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? People need to chill the hell out.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

DALLAS — Lakers star guard Austin Reaves will be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season because of an oblique injury, the team said on Saturday.

Reaves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury after having an MRI over the weekend. 

He suffered the injury during Thursday’s blowout loss to the Thunder after he “overextended a little bit” for a rebound in the first quarter, Reaves said postgame.

Reaves stayed in the game despite the discomfort, going back to the locker room after subbing out before returning in the second quarter. 

He subbed out for the remainder of the game in the third, with the Lakers down by 38 at the time.

Reaves is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks, joining fellow star guard Luka Doncic as Lakers who are out for the rest of the regular season after Doncic suffered a regular-season-ending Grade 2 left hamstring strain against the Thunder.

"The second [MRI] was today. Again, I don't know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but uh they scanned the wrong area. Not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned but they scanned the wrong area." JJ Redick on Austin Reaves' MRI https://t.co/JweK8oI1aZpic.twitter.com/SPcM0hvb0v

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) April 4, 2026

With Doncic (33.5 points) and Reaves (23.3) sidelined, the Lakers will be without their top-two scorers for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.

Doncic’s injury is expected to sideline him for a few weeks. 

“From a strategic tactical standpoint, we obviously are gonna have to play a little bit differently,” coach JJ Redick said after Saturday’s practice before Reaves’ injury was revealed. “There’s enough that we have in that we can play through LeBron [James], play through Luke [Kennard], play through Rui [Hachimura], play through [Deandre Ayton].”

The Lakers entered Sunday with a 50-27 record for third place in the Western Conference standings, a ½ game ahead of the fourth-place Nuggets (50-28), two games ahead of the fifth-place Rockets (48-29) and four games ahead of the sixth-place Timberwolves (46-31).

“Our mission hasn’t changed,” Redick said. “We want to go get the 3-seed and we want to win a first round series.”

In addition to his career-high scoring average, Reaves will finish the season with averages of 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in a career-low 51 games after missing significant time in December and January because of a calf strain. 

He has a $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 that he’s expected to decline, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

LeBron James, who’s 41 and in his 23rd NBA season, is the Lakers’ lone star player available for the stretch run of the season. 

“You got to flip the mindset a little bit,” James said. “When your role changes, whatever the case may be, or what’s needed out of the team. So the mindset changes a little bit for sure.”

Marcus Smart will also remain sidelined because of a right ankle contusion. He’ll miss his seventh consecutive game because of the injury when the Lakers play the Mavericks on Sunday.

“The ball handling role, we’ll obviously have to ask guys to do more,” Redick said. “Kobe [Bufkin], Nick [Smith Jr.], Dalton [Knecht], those guys will be with us at some point for [on Sunday]. We’ll probably have to play a 10- and 11-man rotation, all hands on deck.”

There was a delay getting the results from Reaves’ MRI.

Saturday was Reaves’ second time getting imaging for his injury in Dallas after the first one didn’t scan the right area. 

“Again, I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” coach JJ Redick said. “Not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned but they scanned the wrong area.”

BOSTON — Ron Harper Jr. has long awaited this moment. After four two-way contracts, the 25-year-old has finally signed a two-year NBA contract, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Harper Jr. has appeared in 26 games for the Celtics this season, averaging 3.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. Of late, he’s had several standout performances for the Celtics; last month, he exploded for 22 points on 8-11 shooting against the San Antonio Spurs. Last week, he had a great first-quarter stint against the Charlotte Hornets — scoring 7 quick points — before he went down with an ankle sprain.

Harper Jr. had a standout season with the Maine Celtics before primarily joining the parent club in January. He averaged 24.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, while shooting 37.7% from three in the G-League.

And while he hasn’t shot particularly well in very limited minutes in Boston, his shooting has nonetheless impressed his teammates.

“Ron’s one of the best shooters on our team,” Jaylen Brown proclaimed a few weeks ago. Harper Jr. proceeded to shoot 60% from three in March.

While this is his first year actually under contract with the Celtics, Harper Jr. is very familiar with the organization; he spent the 2024 and 2025 NBA training camps with Boston and was also on the Celtics’ Summer League team in 2024.

“I feel like I know the system; the coverages are like the back of my hand,” Harper Jr. said in February. “That was a big part of the process and the decision to be coming back in the summer — I just knew the team, I knew the coaches, I knew the system.”

After his first NBA start, a Celtics win over the Houston Rockets on February 4th, Harper Jr. said he felt he made the right decision to rejoin the Celtics organization.

“I felt like I could excel,” Harper Jr. said then. “I feel like it’s working out pretty good so far.”

Now, he’s officially achieved something he’s long desired: an NBA contract.

The haymakers are coming left and right for the Lakers right now.

Luka Doncic’s hamstring injury took center stage from Thursday’s loss to the Thunder, but Austin Reaves was also injured and it’s much worse than he initially indicated after the game.

The Lakers announced on Saturday that Reaves would be out for the regular season with a Grade 2 oblique strain.

Don’t worry, though. It gets worse.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Reaves is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury. That safely rules him out for the first round and likely rules him out for part or most of a second round series, which feels basically impossible to even reach now.

Truly, it’s hard to imagine a worse 24 hours for the Lakers. In that span, both Luka and Austin have all but been ruled for the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers are going to limp into the postseason like it’s 2012 all over again.

After practice on Saturday in Dallas, head coach JJ Redick revealed that Reaves had imaging done on his oblique. In fact, he had an MRI twice for the most hilarious reason possible.

“The second one was today,” Redick said. “I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area. Not on our end. We made it explicit where it was supposed to be scanned but they scanned the wrong area.”

Somehow, this is very fitting for how the Lakers’ season has gone.

It’s hard to really have much of a takeaway from this other than it being a brutal way for this season to unofficially end. There will be another week of regular season games and a first round series but it’s all going to feel ceremonial at this point.

We’ll always have the March Lakers. They can’t take that away from us at least.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.