The calf strain that resulted in Luka Doncic missing a significant portion of the 2024-25 NBA season is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar received a huge update from his head coach JJ Redick.
Doncic originally injured his calf in a Christmas Day matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The former Dallas Mavericks point guard was forced to leave the game after a hot start that included 14 points in just over 16 minutes played.
The Lakers have been careful about handling Doncic's return to the court after his arrival via trade to Los Angeles. The newest superstar donning purple and gold was finally back in the lineup for two matchups against the Utah Jazz before the NBA hit its All-Star break.
No more limitations for Doncic
Redick kept Doncic on a strict minutes restriction in both games against the Jazz. The Slovenian superstar did not exceed 25 minutes played in either contest. That sure looked like the sweet spot for where the Lakers were comfortable keeping Doncic at.
However, Redick recently offered a positive update on the situation. It sure sounds like Luka is trending pretty close towards being 100 percent.
"He’ll be fine," Redick told Mark Medina of Doncic. "That extra five-six days of All-Star break was good for him. His minutes will be up tomorrow. And I don’t think that there’s going to be any sort of restrictions going forward."
The lifting of the minutes restriction is a monumental update for the five-time All-NBA First Team member. Doncic's health is undoubtedly priority number one as last year's Western Conference Finals MVP looks to get settled into his new environment. With him moving close to clearing that hurdle, the focus can now shift to figuring out the on-court fit with LeBron James and the rest of his new teammates.
James and Doncic quickly cleared up concerns about how the two superstars project to co-exist as the leading men of this team. However, there are plenty of other questions about the rotations that can now be tackled with Luka playing closer to his usual minutes.
If the Lakers are to compete for anything of substance in the 2024-25 season, Doncic will need to be at his best. The update from Redick marks a significant checkpoint for the journey towards that.