With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic is unlikely to return in the playoffs because of an injured hamstring that had an inital eight-week timeline for his return.
Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.
After his injury, Doncic said doctors told him that he would be out for roughly two months. He went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections with hopes to help his recovery and stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.
Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing three of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 on Tuesday.
“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough just to see and watch them play.”
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