The Los Angeles Lakers had a long injury report ahead of their contest against the Denver Nuggets that included LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
As a result, Austin Reaves was the outright primary star for head coach JJ Redick. Well, for what it's worth, the Lakers came close to beating their rivals, but ended up suffering a 131-126 defeat.
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It marked the team's fourth straight defeat as they are trying their best to stay competitive in their 40-year-old superstar's absence.
Despite their best efforts, the Lakers will be returning to the Crypto.com Arena with a 0-4 record in their recent road trip. Reaves shared his thoughts on the Lakers' trip while resonating with his head coach's mantra.
"We went 0-4 so it's a pretty bad trip," Reaves said. "But a week ago, like JJ said, everybody was saying 'Lakers in 5.' So we don't listen to any of it. We know when we're fully healthy, got everybody on the team, we have a really good chance to beat anybody."
"Losing sucks, but I'm happy with what these guys in the locker room did tonight."
Austin Reaves (37 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists) speaks with @LakersReporter and the media after the Lakers lose 131-126. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/BrtecHZMeG
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 15, 2025
There's no team that loves to go winless on a road trip, especially a top contender like the Los Angeles Lakers, but they've had to deal with a plethora of injuries during this stretch.
Reaves, who scored 37 points in the loss, knows that a healthy Lakers team has as good as a chance to win it all as any other team in the league. It's great to see that Reaves and the Lakers' morale remains unaffected, albeit being in a slump.
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