Los Angeles Lakers: 5 takeaways from the 2017-18 NBA season
4. Injuries hampered playoff hopes
The Lakers weren’t expected to make noise in the postseason, and ended up 13 games adrift from the playoffs. Despite being in a loaded Western Conference, the Lakers reaching their 35-win total this season is surprising given how many games two of their best players missed this season.
Lonzo Ball missed 30 games with a list of injuries to both knees and his shoulder. Brandon Ingram followed suit by missing 23 games on the season with groin injuries and a concussion sidelining him.
Having these two players miss over a quarter of the season apiece hurt the Lakers, with the team going 10-15 with Lonzo out and 8-17 without Ingram. These two were the Lakers’ primary ball-handlers and the team was thin at the guard spot all season.
It also didn’t help that Josh Hart missed 19 games, the team traded Jordan Clarkson, and his replacement, Isaiah Thomas, missed the final 11 games himself with another injury to his hip.
Josh Hart: "I truly believe that if we were healthy all 82 games, we could be a playoff team. It is just that adversity we kept playing hard & competing for every game." #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 12, 2018
I’m not saying the Los Angeles Lakers would have made the playoffs if these injuries didn’t take place. Every NBA team undergoes injuries and players missing time throughout the season, and the Lakers didn’t suffer any terrible, season-ending injuries to players, which is always a plus. But the injuries to key players ended any hopes they had, especially with Lonzo missing most of December during the team’s toughest stretch of games.