Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will not return from injuries in time to begin the first-round series of the playoffs. the lakers against the Houston Rocketsleaving Los Angeles without its two leading scorers.
“They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after Tuesday’s workout at the team’s training complex. “I won’t give you any news this week.”
Doncic suffered a hamstring strain and Reaves suffered an oblique strain during the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder on April 2 in Oklahoma City, and neither returned during the regular season. The Lakers host the Rockets in the opener on Saturday night.
Doncic will return to Los Angeles on Friday after traveling to Spain last week to receive treatment for a hamstring injury, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. This person spoke on condition of anonymity, as neither Doncic nor the Lakers are revealing details about the recovery of the NBA’s leading scorer.
Reaves is in Los Angeles and practiced free throws with several teammates after finishing training on Tuesday. The severity of his oblique injury will likely keep him out of the entire first round, although the Lakers have not set a time frame for either player’s recovery, as these injuries typically require a month or more of healing.
Doncic and Reaves combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 12.4 rebounds per game when healthy this season, and their absences dealt a blow to the Lakers’ playoff hopes. Even so, the Lakers went 3-2 in the absence of the stars, obtaining home field advantage in the first round, after LeBron James resumed his role as the central axis of the attack.
Los Angeles also had Luke Kennard as a ball handler and playmaker, and point guard Marcus Smart returned after missing nearly three weeks with a right ankle injury. He’s eager to help counter the Rockets’ defensive pressure.
“They’re aggressive, and we’re going to try to use it against them,” Smart said. “We’ve prepared some strategies, and some different players are going to bring it up. They’re going to come out with everything, and we have to come out with everything too.”
Backup center Jaxson Hayes is also set to return after missing the final four games of the regular season while recovering from a left foot injury.
“I was going to play no matter what,” Hayes said. “If something hurt, I played.”
