Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes talks about the team's injury struggles this season to key stars
The Los Angeles Lakers had an embarrassing performance in the NBA playoffs last year, losing in five games in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In fairness, the team made a drastic move to add Luka Doncic, so there were some glaring holes on the roster.
Now in the 2025-26 season, the Lakers have fixed some of those issues, but have been held back this season from reaching their full potential due to injuries. LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic have only played a handful of games together, which hasn't allowed fans to see what they can really be capable of.
Jaxson Hayes Talks Injuries
The Lakers took down the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in their final game before All-Star weekend, a 20-point blowout led by a 28-point triple-double from LeBron. While Reaves was available, he's still coming off the bench, and Doncic was out due to injury.
After the game, Jaxson Hayes, who finished the contest with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks, spoke about the team battling injuries this season to their key three stars.
"We found ways to win in games that we needed to. We just gotta keep it going in the second half of the season...take this little break and come back rolling," Hayes said
At a 33-21 record heading into the All-Star break, it's not a bad place at all for the Lakers to be. They sit just five games back of the second seed in the Western Conference, and are less than a game back of earning a top four seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
With the Lakers being rather up and down lately, the All-Star break comes at a great time for them to regroup and get healthy before the second half of the season. This Lakers team might still have some weaknesses on their roster that can't be addressed now, but that doesn't mean they can't find ways to maximize other areas of their team.
If and once Doncic, James, and Reaves are all on the court together and playing well, there's not really any offensive trio in the NBA that can keep pace with them.
The Lakers will return to action out of the All-Star break against the Los Angeles Clippers at home on February 20th, and won't play a road game against an Eastern Conference opponent until March 19th. Therefore, the opportunity is right there for the Lakers to get back in form.