The Lakers are limping into the NBA postseason, but even without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves indefinitely, the team still hopes to surprise the Rockets in their first-round series. Here are five major postseason questions for the Lakers, which we posed to California Post sports staffers Khobi Price, Melissa Rohlin and Michael Duarte:

Price:Can they produce efficient offense without Doncic and Reaves against a stingy Rockets defense? The Lakers, for the most part, held up fine offensively without their star guards for the final five games of the regular season. But that came against the inept Jazz, the Devin Booker-less Suns and Steph Curry-less Warriors.The Rockets, who had the league’s third-best regular-season halfcourt defense, will present a different challenge.

Rohlin:Can the 41-year-old LeBron James carry the Lakers past Kevin Durant and Co.? Durant has help. James doesn’t, unlessDoncic (hamstring) or Reaves (oblique)are able to return. If James at this stage in his career can carry this depleted roster past the Rockets, it’ll be his greatest accomplishment yet — and that’s saying a lot considering he’s already arguably the greatest player of all time.

Duarte:Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last two weeks, the biggest question facing the Lakers iswhether they can survive long enoughfor Doncic and Reaves to return. Everything begins and ends with health. Without their top two scorers, this offense feels like a house missing its foundation.

Price:Luke Kennard. We’ve gotten a preview of what life could look like for the Lakers with Kennard having an uptick in offensive responsibility, and it’s gone about as well as reasonably expected. He may not be the Lakers’ second-leading scorer for the series, but Kennard’s combination of ball-handling responsibilities, playmaking duties and scoring opportunities will be second to just James within the Lakers’ offense without Doncic and Reaves available.

Rohlin:Kennard, I suppose? (It’s not great that there’s not an obvious answer here.) Kennard has gone from being a 3-point specialist to a playmaker since Doncic and Reaves have been out. And so far, he has handled the role change well. In the team’s four games after losing its two biggest stars, he averaged 14.5 points, 7.7 assists and 5.2 rebounds. Kennard is going to need to do a bit of everything on the offensive end for the Lakers to have a shot at winning this series. He’s the second-most important player now.

Duarte:I went with Kennard at first also, but for the sake of parity — and the next question — I’ll go with Rui Hachimura. In the five games the Lakers played without Doncic and Reaves to end the season, Hachimura stepped into that vacuum and averaged 14.6 ppg. That’s three more points above his season average. He led the team in scoring once and was second in scoring in two of those games. If LeBron commands double-teams in this series, Hachimura will be the release valve to hit corner 3s and second-chance buckets.

Price:Hachimura, who’s shown the ability to step up in the playoffs throughout his career, is developing the reputation as a playoff riser. Remember his performances during the 2023 playoffs en route to the Lakers going to the Western Conference finals? Or the fact he was the only Laker who consistently was in rhythm from 3-point range during last year’s playoffs? Hachimura’s scoring efficiency consistently rises when he’s in the playoffs. The Lakers will need that from him again.

Rohlin:Deandre Ayton, it’s now or never for you. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft has been inconsistent this season. In some games, he plays with force and easily puts up double-doubles. In others, he has been a 7-foot placeholder. Ayton made waves earlier this season when he proclaimed in the locker room that he didn’t want to be compared with Clint Capela. Well, now he’s facing Capela. And it’s up to him whether he’s a star next to him — or a bust.

Duarte:The key to this question is “role player.” Kennard is the swing piece here. His role was a spot-up 3-point shooter off the bench. Now, he will be asked to be one of the primary ball handlers and playmakers without Doncic. He will have to initiate, create and steady possessions when things inevitably stall. Kennard’s offensive rhythm could be the thin line between whether the Lakers can be competitive or simply get overwhelmed by Houston’s defense.

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