The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets in six games to advance to the second round of the playoffs, and Luka Doncic needed exactly that to have any shot at getting back on the floor this season. Nobody was picking the Lakers to win, but fans know Luka is dreaming of playing in the playoffs. He loves to hoop and wants nothing more than to help his teammates chase a championship. Doncic was never going to be healthy in round one, but the Lakers' improbable win should allow him to play at some point.
ESPN’s Shams Charania has already ruled out Luka for the start of the series against the Thunder, but Doncic and Lakers fans have renewed hope. He is already doing some movement shooting. There is a clear pathway to return during the second round series.
Luka’s Grade 2 hamstring injury came with a three-to-six-week timetable. He has already missed over four weeks of action. Game 2 would be five weeks from the injury. If Doncic sat out the full six weeks, the Lakers would have to get this series to Game 6. Winning against the defending champions without their best player won’t be easy, but the Lakers already did the improbable four times.
Luka Doncic dream of playing again just got closer to reality
The Lakers started the series against Houston without Luka and Austin Reaves. Everybody thought the Rockets would steamroll the purple and gold, but LeBron James had other ideas. He led LA to a 3-0 edge and put down another masterpiece in Game 6 to push the Lakers into the second round. Reaves returned in Game 5 and showed no ill effects after missing nearly four weeks with an oblique injury.
Now, the Lakers need to get Doncic back. He keeps ramping up, and fans know number 77 is doing everything possible to play. Luka traveled to Europe to get treatment after it happened. The Lakers don’t want to rush him back, especially with his history of soft tissue injuries. Doncic needed his teammates to come through against the Rockets, and they delivered.
Brian Windhorst offered the following update after the Lakers' win on Friday night to close out the Rockets.
"He's not close. When you come back from a hamstring injury like this, you have to ramp up. You have to play contact basketball. You have to play 3-on-3 and 5-on-5. He hasn't played for a month, and he isn't doing any of that right now. They do get an interesting little break here because the other games tonight pushed the series to Tuesday, and that will push out the series pretty much as far in the calendar as it can go. I have no idea how Luka is going to be 14 days from now, but most likely, you are not going to see Luka Doncic at the front end of this series. Maybe for at least another week to 10 days at the minimum."
The ESPN scribe noted it is the team's goal, and it would "be amazing" if the Lakers could make it happen.
Ten days from now would put Luka back for Game 4. The window is open, but the Lakers superstar must ramp up his activity.
Do not discount what LeBron and the Lakers just pulled off. They won three of the first four games of a playoff series without their two leading scorers. Los Angeles won the series without their perennial MVP candidate. That is a nearly impossible feat that nobody was predicting before things got underway. Everyone wrote the Lakers off, except the people in their building.
Los Angeles Lakers fans are dreaming of Luka Doncic returning against the Thunder and leading another improbable upset. He has already missed four weeks and should be ready at some point soon. Hamstring injuries are tricky and prone to re-injury. The Lakers need to give it time. LA already pulled off one miracle, and Luka will be back if his team can make this a series.
Nobody expected that, but here we are. Fans know it has made Doncic even more bought in on being a Laker for the rest of his career. His dream of playing again this season may be realized. Luka's isn't quite ready yet, but stay tuned for all the latest.
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