It might sound like an exaggeration, but the Los Angeles Lakers' hopes of making a playoff run this spring may have gotten destroyed Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While suffering a 43-point loss to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is a bad look, the bigger issue for the Lakers is that All-Star guard Luka Doncic went down with a hamstring injury. He immediately grabbed at his hamstring and then fell to the floor during the third quarter.
The timing of this injury is brutal for the Lakers since the playoffs are set to begin on April 18. There's a strong chance he could miss several games in the opening round.
Although some injuries are unavoidable, Lakers fans believe head coach JJ Redick is directly responsible for Doncic going down. They believe he should've protected the MVP-caliber guard during Thursday's blowout.
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images.
"Luka’s hamstring was bothering him earlier in the game but he was cleared by the medial staff and JJ Redick put him back in the game despite being down 31 at the half," one person wrote. "SOMEBODY GOTTA GET FIRED."
"Luka Doncic was already favoring his hamstring earlier in the game but JJ Redick decided to put him back in the game down 30 in the second half," a Lakers fan said. "Absolute Malpractice by JJ Redick."
"You were down 30 and had your star who tweaked his hamstring out there and now you’ll be a first round exit because he’s likely out," another fan declared. "Failure of an organization."
"We need to fire him," a social media user wrote. "No talent all look. He has no idea of how to be a coach. JJ Redick is a terrible coach."
JJ Redick addresses Doncic's injury.
On Thursday night, Redick explained why Doncic went back in the game despite favoring his hamstring.
"We checked him out. He got work done, but he was cleared," Redick told reporters. "We're not gonna put a player at risk. Those things happen."
Doncic is set to undergo an MRI exam this Friday. We should know more about his status in the coming hours.
