Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers entered their highly anticipated clash against the New York Knicks without their star forward, LeBron James. This came as a result of the 41-year-old getting ruled out ahead of the tip-off after being labeled questionable because of a bruised elbow, or so everyone thought, until ESPN’s Malika Andrews revealed that his absence also had to do with left foot arthritis, which led a former L.A. star to confess.

While getting sidelined after being a game-time decision isn’t really groundbreaking, it’s the injury that caused it that makes James’ absence unique. After all, how often do you see a player not suit up because of foot arthritis? Not often, of course. But that’s mostly because you don’t often see many 41-year-olds in the NBA. And so, while discussing whether the Lakers are better off without James, former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins shared his take on James’s injury.

“He’s shown up throughout his entire career. Obviously, he’s a lot older. I mean, he’s basically an old man. He’s dealing with arthritis in his foot. That sounds like some old man s—,” he said before getting interrupted by Lou Williams, who couldn’t control his laughter. “Yeah, that’s definitely some old man s—. You don’t see arthritis on the injury report,” he further concluded.

However, the foot issue is something that’s been bothering LeBron James for a while now. He’s missed several games because of this lingering issue, including last month’s clash against the San Antonio Spurs. Missing that game meant that the veteran couldn’t complete the 65-game criteria for the end-of-season honors, ending his glorious 21-year streak in the process.

Nonetheless, despite signs of the years finally catching up to King James, as his fitness remains in question, his production remains elite on the court. Thus far, the veteran forward has been averaging 21.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game. No one has produced a better average at his age or when he was 37, and as a data journalist on X, Lev Akabas, concluded, LeBron is basically breaking the age curve.

So, his absence could be daunting for the Lakers or maybe not, as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves stepped up their game to guide Los Angeles past New York last night.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves lead a LeBron James-less Lakers to an impressive win

Even though LeBron James missed his team’s high-stakes matchup against the Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t miss a beat. The backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves did an impressive job in his absence in back-to-back games. The pair dictated the pace of the game as they both finished the night with stellar stat lines.

While Doncic wrapped up the win with 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, his partner in crime, Reaves, ended the night with 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, as they led the Lakers to a comfortable 110-97 win. After the game, the Slovenian guard expressed his feelings about playing alongside Austin Reaves.

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“I mean, it’s just great being his teammate, you know … playing with him is so easy, cause’ he draws so much attention  … playing with him makes my life easier,” he told the reporters. While it was most likely just praise for his teammate, with whom the 27-year-old has developed a great bond, a section of Lakers fans was quick to point out that the team performs better without LeBron James.

That’s because the Lakers were 10-4 when he returned from this sciatica injury earlier this season. Since then, they’ve been 29-21 and are 9-2 when only Doncic and Reaves have played. Not just that, the duo also posts a +13.2 net rating, which is significantly higher than when the trio plays together. However, it’s worth noting that most of those nine wins were against easier opposition.

Of course, this excludes Sunday night’s triumph over the Knicks. Nonetheless, overall, Los Angeles is 13-7 in James’ absence and 26-18 with him on the court. So, the numbers are really not that bad after all. Still, even though they might not be horrible with the veteran on the floor, there’s no doubt that head coach JJ Redick needs to work out a sustainable way to plot the trio together on the court.