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Injured Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic sits in street clothes on the bench between Los Angeles Lakers forward Maxi Kleber and Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves.

Star point guard Luka Doncic continues to hang back and work on his rehab as the Los Angeles Lakers’ season continues.

The Lakers triumphed in the first round, upsetting expectations and packing a strong boost as they head into the second round of the NBA playoffs.

L.A. faced a bit of a scare toward the end of the first round. It lost back-to-back games after going up 3-0 on the Houston Rockets. But the Lakers snapped back into it and whalloped the Rockets in Game 6. 

There is excitement in L.A. over clinching a trip to the second round, but there is also concern over Doncic.

Doncic remains in the spotlight. He hasn’t played in over a month after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Lakers fans are itching to know where the star guard stands as Game 1 of the next round approaches.

Positive Luka Doncic News Emerges Ahead of Game 1

The Lakers are packing for a road trip in Oklahoma City to start the second round. They are met with an enormous task, even more so without their best player.

GettyLos Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic

And there is still no set return date. 

All signs point to Doncic at least missing the first couple of games of the second round.

Earlier this week, a major report on Doncic’s injury progress was provided by NBA insider Brian Windhorst. He shut down any hope Doncic would be ready to go in Game 1.

“He’s not close [to returning],” Windhorst said. “When you come back from a hamstring injury like this, you have to ramp up, you have to play contact basketball, you have to play 3-on-3 and 5-on-5. He hasn’t played for a month. He’s not doing any of that right now. 

[The Lakers] do get an interesting little break here … and that’ll push out the series [against the Thunder] pretty much as far in the calendar as it can go. I have no idea how Luka’s gonna be in 14 days from now, but most likely, you are not going to see Luka Doncic at the front end of this, maybe at least for another week, 10 days on the minimum.” 

Windhorst is a trusted reporter and what he said absolutely should convince everyone Doncic still has some ground to cover before he can return. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the 27-year-old star guard can’t return soon.

Windhorst noted a 7-10 timeline for Doncic, which would project a likely return around Game 4. 

According to NBA insider Brett Siegel, Doncic will be re-evaluated next week. 

Re-evaluation doesn’t mean a return date will be determined, but it can provide a significant update on how close (or far) a player is from playing again.

“I’m told he’s being re-evaluated next week before potentially being cleared to increase his workouts/practice,” Siegel wrote of Doncic in an X post. “Won’t have a chance to return before the 2nd week of the series.”

L.A. Looks Ahead to Brutal Matchup

Siegel’s report is potentially good news for the Lakers. 

If L.A. can regain Doncic’s services by Game 4, well first the team will have to hope the series score is somewhat close. If the Thunder hold a commanding 3-0 entering the fourth game of the series, the swirl out there is the Lakers will continue to sit Doncic even if he can play. After all, he means way more to the Lakers than just this season.

Siegel also noted the shorter rest time in between games in the second round.

In the first round, L.A. often played a game every three days. That was massive in helping Doncic receive more days off. Now whether that will ultimately end up matter remains to be seen.

Doncic has reportedly been making slower progress since going down with injury April 2. It seems hard to believe he’ll be suddenly ready to play after a few days. All the latest reports have stated Doncic has not even begun running.

For the Lakers, here come the defending champs. Perhaps all we can do is wish them the best.