The Los Angeles Lakers are already the most surprising team of the NBA playoffs. Missing superstar Luka Doncic as well as Austin Reaves, their two top scorers, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets Tuesday, 101-94, to burst out of the gates with a 2-0 lead, firmly in control of the first-round series even without the league-leading 33.5 points per game Doncic gave them this season.
Reaves also provided 23.3 points per game, second-most on the Lakers. But both players have been out with injuries since April 2, when Doncic exited with what was quickly diagnosed as a Grade 2 hamstring strain, and Reaves suffered an oblique injury.
The Lakers managed quite well without the pair of stars, however, ending the regular season on a three-game winning streak to secure the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. With their roaring start to the playoffs, Los Angeles has now extended that winning streak to five.
The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer LeBron James has looked ageless, taking up the slack left by the absence of Doncic. James poured in 28 points and topped it off with eight rebounds and seven assists on Tuesday to lead the Lakers to a definitive win, despite the return from injury of the Rockets’ own future Hall of Famer, Kevin Durant.
The Lakers’ success has only led fans to wonder how much better they will be when Doncic, who also led the NBA in field goals made per game as well as 3-point shots made on average, returns to the Lakers lineup.
Was Doncic’s Return Date Just Leaked?
When will Doncic actually come back? The media and, of course, social media have been overflowing with speculation. Especially after Doncic traveled to Spain for 10 days, where he reportedly received advanced medical treatments to speed the healing of his hamstring, NBA commentators speculated that the 27-year-old Slovenian native could return sometime in the first round.
The Lakers, through head coach JJ Redick, have, on the other hand, continued to insist at least in public that Doncic remains out “indefinitely,” even after the six-time All-Star returned to Los Angeles from Europe on Friday.
But hopeful, and observant, Lakers fans noticed a detail on the ESPN.com preview page for Friday’s Game 3 against the Rockets in Houston â a detail that may finally reveal the date when Doncic will take the court for the Lakers once again.
Is Game 6 on May 1 the Big Day For Doncic?
According to the injury report posted by ESPN.com on the page providing vital statistics for what will surely be the pivotal game of the Lakers-Rockets series, there is already an “estimated return” date for Doncic. That date is May 1. According to the NBA’s schedule for the first round, that date is also the day the Lakers and Rockets would play Game 6 of their series â if necessary.
There has been no confirmation of that date from any independent source, which can only lead fans to wonder if the Lakers know more than they are letting on in media briefings, and if someone leaked the date that they expect Doncic back in the purple-and-gold jersey. Of course, if May 1 is the date, and the Lakers wrap up their series with Houston in victorious fashion in just five games, or four, Doncic would start the second round from the beginning â if the possibly leaked May 1 date proves to be accurate.
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