Lakers fans will be disappointed to hear this news, but it looks like even if they beat the Rockets and advance, Luka Doncic will not be back on the court.
There was hope that Luka would be available if the Lakers got past the Rockets to face the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
There were even rumors that he could return this round due to a hamstring injury suffered at the end of the regular season, but ESPN’s Shams Charania gave everyone a reality check.
“My understanding is that it’s a slow recovery for Luke,” Shams said. “The expectation is that if the Lakers can beat Houston and advance, Luka Dončić will not be in the next series. There is no timetable for him yet. He is starting to make more moves on the court, as JJ Redick said the other day, but he is not at the stage where he is progressing in his practice on the court up to one forward.”
The typical timeline for the return of Grade 2 hamstring pain is between four to six weeks.
Six weeks from the day of his injury will be too late for the second round of the playoffs, depending on when the games are played.
But, as we know with hamstring injuries – eg the Kevin Durant 2019 NBA Finals case and point – it’s not the type of injury you want to rush a player back from.
Before Game 4, JJ Redick explained that Doncic had started moving on the court as he continued to rehabilitate his left hamstring.
“He continues to do other things on the court,” Redick said. “He was able to move a little bit today in court, you know, a lot of things were on hold. So he’s moving on, but there’s no update on any timeline or anything like that.”
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