LeBron James and Bronny James hit the golf course during the Lakers’ visit to Dallas amid Luka Doncic’s hamstring injury news on Friday. Doncic sustained a Grade II strain on Thursday in Oklahoma City, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season. His participation in the first round of the playoffs is also uncertain.
However, James and his eldest son, who have taken a profound interest in golfing since last summer, continued their adventure on the greens as seen over the past few months during their road trips. There’s not much they can do at this point, but help steer the ship to fill Doncic’s void.
James, in particular, must shoulder a larger load in Doncic’s absence. James isn’t the scorer he once was, but as a playmaker, he remains a reliable option. The Lakers will hope he can turn back the clock until Doncic returns, guiding them through to the second round.
However, a large portion of fans believe the Lakers’ ceiling is a first-round exit without Luka Doncic.
After LeBron James and Bronny hit the golf course following their teammate’s injury news, some even joked that the duo was bracing for the offseason as a potential early exit in the postseason looms.
“LeBron and Bronny preparing for the offseason after hearing the Luka injury news,” one fan wrote.
“Bronny is going to have to wait for his ring,” another said.
“That’s great. It’s nice to see Bronny finally getting some playing time.” one fan commented.
“That’s all LeBron truly wants to do now. He be playing imaginary golf on the bench.” one fan said.
“While his agent is sneaking dissing lakers,” another added.
Luka Doncic’s absence provides more role clarity with LeBron James as a top-two option, but is that enough?
The Lakers have performed better when two of their three stars are in action as opposed to all three playing since they joined forces last February. The last month was the only time they looked lethal as a trio. That was mainly due to a sizeable sacrifice from LeBron James, who accepted the role of a third option, allowing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to have higher usage and offensive opportunities.
Now, without Doncic, James can slot back in as an interchangeable No. 1 or No. 2 option depending on how Reaves plays on a nightly basis. James has been excellent in that role this year as he’s played a significant stretch without Reaves in the lineup.
Some would say that he functions even better with Reaves, given their pick-and-roll chemistry and different skillsets, as James’ playing style clashes with Doncic’s. However, it remains to be seen if that would be enough for the Lakers to get over the hump.
Doncic bailed the Lakers out offensively on numerous occasions, especially in the clutch. His ability to make contested shots is second to none and that’s something Los Angeles will sorely miss, especially on nights when the others go cold.
