The NBA announced the schedule for the first-round playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets on Tuesday. With Game 5 of the series not scheduled until April 29, the Lakers may realistically get injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves back midway through the series.
The full Lakers vs. Rockets playoff schedule can be seen below:
- Game 1: Rockets at Lakers – Saturday, April 18, 5:30 p.m. (ABC)
- Game 2: Rockets at Lakers – Tuesday, April 21, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)
- Game 3: Lakers at Rockets – Friday, April 24, 5:00 p.m. (Prime Video)
- Game 4: Lakers at Rockets – Sunday, April 26, 6:30 p.m. (NBC)
- Game 5 (if necessary): Rockets at Lakers – Wednesday, April 29 (TBD)
- Game 6 (if necessary): Lakers at Rockets – Friday, May 1 (TBD)
- Game 7 (if necessary): Rockets at Lakers – Sunday, May 3 (TBD)
Austin Reaves Injury Update
When Doncic (grade 2 hamstring strain) and Reaves (grade 2 oblique injury) went down with their injuries on April 2, both stars were expected to miss at least 4-to-6 weeks of action. Based on that timeline, one or the other could be ready for the latter part of the Lakers vs. Rockets playoff series.
There appears to be more momentum for Reaves to return quicker than Doncic.
Khobi Price of The California Post reported on Tuesday that Reaves is expected to miss “at least one more week” of action. As such, he will definitely miss at least the first two games of the series. However, could he possibly return for Game 3 on April 24?
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted on Tuesday that several rival Western Conference teams are preparing for the possibility of facing Reaves in the playoffs.
“There are potential Laker playoff opponents who felt that there was a better chance — based on their analysis of the situation — that Austin Reaves could play sooner rather than later,” Windhorst told the “Hoop Collective” podcast.
“And that, as this team was preparing to potentially see the Lakers, that they were preparing for Austin Reaves potentially to play in that first-round series at some point.”
Luka Doncic Injury Update
As for Doncic, there appears to be a lot more uncertainty about his return timeline.
The Slovenian superstar spent the past week or so undergoing two rounds of cell-based therapy in Madrid, Spain, to treat his injured hamstring. Per The Athletic, Doncic is expected to return to Los Angeles on Friday, just a day before Game 1 vs. the Rockets.
“Doncic, according to a league source, will remain in Madrid until Friday when he’s set to fly back to Los Angeles to rejoin the Lakers ahead of Game 1,” Dan Woike reported.
“…While he went to Spain shortly after the injury to begin aggressive treatment at the Real Madrid facilities — where he once played and members of his medical team are based — Grade 2 strains typically carry a recovery time of four to six weeks.”
For what it’s worth, Lakers head coach JJ Redick refused to provide a timeline for either Doncic or Reaves after Tuesday’s practice session.
“They’re out indefinitely. I’m not going to have an update for you this week,” Redick said of his backcourt stars.
“They’re out indefinitely,” he added.
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