Lakers Facing Brutal Luka Doncic Reality Even If They Advance Past Rockets
Ahead of Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers look like they'll get star guard Austin Reaves back on the floor after battling an oblique strain. However, superstar Luka Doncic's status for the rest of the playoffs remains uncertain.
Doncic and Reaves both suffered their injuries on April 2 in the blowout loss to the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The Slovenian product went down with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, which has a projected timetable of four to six weeks to return.
Although Reaves had the same timetable, he has progressed well, while Doncic's recovery has been a slow process.
Luka Doncic Expected to Miss Second Round
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, even if the Lakers manage to beat the Rockets in the first round, the expectation is that Doncic will not return for the second round, where Los Angeles would go head-to-head against Oklahoma City, which has already advanced.
"It is a slow-path on the recovery front for Luka. The expectation is if the Lakers are able to beat Houston and advance Luka Dončić will be out for the next series. There's still no time table for him as of right now. He's starting to do more court movement as JJ Redick said the… pic.twitter.com/ayA0zuKreU
- Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) April 28, 2026
"It is a slow path on the recovery front for Luka," Shams said. "The expectation is if the Lakers are able to beat Houston and advance, Luka Doncic will be out for the next series. There's still no timetable for him as of right now. He's starting to do more court movement as JJ Redick said the other day but he is not at the point where he's progressing in his on-court workouts as far as one-on-ones and truly pushing it on a movement front."
Throughout Doncic's rehab, there's been no concrete date for his return, and that continues to be the case, which is concerning for the Lakers and the team's chances of competing with the Thunder if they advance to the next round.
With Doncic's return still up in the air, the team will continue to focus on getting the best of the Kevin Durant-less Rockets in the first round.
Unlike the first four games of the series, the Lakers are currently favored (-4.5) to come out on top in Wednesday's game at Crypto.com Arena. While Reaves is trending toward a return, Durant is not, which tilts the scales in Los Angeles' favor in this win-or-go-home playoff scenario for Houston.
If the Lakers win Game 5 in Los Angeles, the storied franchise would likely be set to take on the Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round series on Saturday or Sunday in Oklahoma City.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/lakers/onsi as Lakers Facing Brutal Luka Doncic Reality Even If They Advance Past Rockets.
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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 2:31 PM.