If the Los Angeles Lakers want to make a legit run this postseason, they need to get their two leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves back in the lineup.
The good news is that Reaves looks like he may be able to play in Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the Houston Rockets. Doncic, on the other hand, still needs more time.
The Lakers superstar has been able to do some individual work on the court but has not yet been able to progress to live action. If the Lakers are able to advance to the second round, it looks like they will continue to be without Doncic.
“Elsewhere with the Los Angeles Lakers is Luka Doncic. He’s been out since the beginning of the month with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. I’m told that it is a slow path on his recovery. If the Lakers do advance in this series and play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the next round, the expectation is that Luka Doncic will be out to start that series,” Shams Charania reported on ESPN’s Get Up. “There’s still no clarity on a timeline. He’s started to ramp up a little bit more and more on the court. He still isn’t progressing to full scrimmages and workouts yet.”
This obviously isn’t ideal for the Lakers, who were hoping to get Doncic back in time to play the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who are already preparing for the second round.
Doncic’s left hamstring strain was a significant one though, so the Lakers can not rush him back to the lineup. He must be 100% healthy in order to not risk re-injury, which should be L.A.’s main concern.
It remains to be seen exactly when Doncic will be able to return, but it unfortunately won’t be for Game 1 in Oklahoma City if the Lakers are able to advance.
JJ Redick discusses areas Lakers have missed Austin Reaves & Luka Doncic
Playing without your two leading scorers and ball-handlers obviously comes with some challenges, and JJ Redick discussed the areas the Lakers have missed Reaves and Doncic most.
“It’s obviously very challenging without your two leading scorers to generate offense,” the head coach said. “We’ll take a look at the process again on that end as well and I know our points per shot and our expected points per shot were slightly below our season average. For me, it goes back to our keys of take care of the ball and we’ll look at how we can be better from there.”
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