TITLE: Doncic Flying Back to Los Angeles on Friday; Playoff Availability Still in Doubt
SLUG: doncic-returns-to-la-friday-playoff-status-uncertain
CONTENT:
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic is expected to arrive back in Los Angeles on Friday after spending the past week in Spain receiving a series of injections to treat a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring, according to ESPN.
The 27-year-old All-Star suffered the injury on April 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. The typical recovery window for a Grade 2 hamstring strain is about one month, leaving his status for the opening weekend of the playoffs unclear.
Los Angeles, the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, hosts the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their first-round series on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
The Lakers went 3-2 without Doncic and fellow starter Austin Reaves, who remains sidelined indefinitely with a Grade 2 left oblique strain also suffered in the Thunder game. In their absence, LeBron James averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 assists and 6.0 rebounds to earn Western Conference Player of the Week honors for the season’s final week.
Doncic finished the regular season leading the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game, along with 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds in 64 appearances. Because he missed the NBA’s 65-game threshold for awards eligibility, his agent, Bill Duffy of WME, has asked the league for a “special circumstances” exemption, citing the two games Doncic missed in December to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia.
No official timetable has been provided for Doncic’s return to game action.
Source: ESPN
