The Los Angeles Lakers are up 2-0 in their first round playoff series against the Houston Rockets despite not having Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves.
But while it’s been the LeBron James show for the time being, new reports indicate that the Lakers could be getting closer to seeing one or both of their two leading scorers come back.
Head coach JJ Redick and Shams Charania recently offered injury updates for Doncic, saying that he remains out indefinitely with no official return timeline, however, based on the latest news, the Slovenian star is making progress on his recovery.
Lakers Get Good News With Latest Luka Doncic Injury Update
Per a post shared on X by Lakers insider Dave McMenamin, Doncic is back on the court doing light work at the team’s practice in the lead-up to Game 3 of their series against the Rockets.
“Luka Doncic doing some controlled, light movement shooting after practice under the watchful eye of Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean,” he wrote, captioning his video of Doncic.
Again, there is no official return timeline yet set for Doncic, as he remains out indefinitely after suffering a hamstring strain in early April.
“Redick added that Luka Doncic is preparing to begin his return to play progression and there is no timeline update on Doncic, either,” McMenamin wrote on X before the Lakers’ Game 2 against Houston.
That came shortly after Charania offered an update on both he and Reaves.
“The sense around the Lakers is that Austin Reaves is actually the one who’s further along than Luka Doncic in their respective rehab processes. I am told Austin Reaves has started 1 on 1 on court work,” he said on NBA Today. “The Lakers are not expecting Luka Doncic to be back in this series. He is out indefinitely.”
As of now, Doncic likely won’t be back in the Lakers vs Rockets series. If either two has a chance of returning at some point in the series, odds are it would be Reaves. Still, until new, official injury updates are given on both, that remains to be determined.
When Can Luka Doncic Come Back For The Lakers?
Doncic traveled to Spain in hopes of getting additional treatment to speed up his hamstring injury recovery, but it’s still unknown if that trip will have any impact on his return timline.
Per The Athletic, grade 2 hamstring injuries like the one Doncic suffered typically take a three to six week recovery, but come with a high chance of re-injury once getting back on the court.
If it only took Doncic three weeks to get back fully healthy, he could potentially get back on the court by Game 3, but based on the latest updates, that does not appear to be the case.
Still, Redick and the team have remained hopeful that if they can extend the series against the Rockets, the chances of getting Doncic or Reaves back at some point only increases.
But now, the Lakers have a 2-0 series lead over Houston, and while the old hope was that they could force a Game 6 or 7, Los Angeles is currently favored to move to the second round. That would give Doncic more added time to fully recover, and potentially return for the Lakers in the next few weeks.
The second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs is set to begin on May 4 and could last for two weeks, giving Doncic anywhere from a month to more than six weeks to get back from his hamstring injury.
As Doncic traveled to Spain and Redick said the Lakers have hope of him coming back, if Los Angeles can advance, there is a real chance he could return at some point in the second round. However, him coming back for the first round feels unlikely, as Charania said in his update.
The Lakers have a 2-0 series lead, and have the chance to grab another commanding win over the Rockets in Game 3 on Friday, April 24, in a matchup that will tipoff at 5 pm PST and will be live on Amazon Prime Video.
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