Luka Doncic’s status for the Los Angeles Lakers’ second-round matchup against the OKC Thunder is in jeopardy. With just one day left for the series to commence, Doncic has yet to begin his lengthy ramp-up required to return from a hamstring strain. According to insider Brian Windhorst’s report from Monday, Doncic isn’t close and could miss the first few games of the series.
“He is not close,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “There is a whole ramp up that’s required from a hamstring and he has not started that contact ramp up yet. Look, the Lakers get a break by starting this series a little bit late to rest LeBron, but it has not brought Luka back. A series lasts 14 days. I don’t know where they’ll be in 10 days, but do not expect to see Luka the first few games of this series.”
The Lakers will play the four games of this series in six days, which is shorter than the last series. They played the first four games of the Rockets series in eight days. By Game 4, Luka Doncic will have missed five weeks and five days of action. Doncic suffered a Grade II hamstring, which can take up to eight weeks to fully heal.
The Lakers aren’t favored to extend the series beyond four games by many, so there’s a solid chance that Doncic has already played his last game of the season.
JJ Redick didn’t provide an official Luka Doncic injury update as Lakers prepare for OKC
Lakers coach JJ Redick didn’t have an official update available for Luka Doncic when he addressed the media for the first time before the OKC series began. Redick said everyone participated in the Lakers’ first practice aside from Doncic.
The Slovenian has been spotted in workout gear, but he was only doing light shooting drills with no running involved. The Lakers’ best chances of causing an upset relied on Doncic, but they will have to pull off another miraculous effort without the superstar to advance in the playoffs.
However, the OKC Thunder have been historically among the best teams across various categories, unlike the Houston Rockets, who had several flaws the Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on in the first round. It would take a near-perfect effort from LeBron James, Austin Reaves and the rest of the group to compensate for Luka Doncic’s absence and get a quick start in this series.
