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Luka Doncic remains out for the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers once had the Houston Rockets on the brink of a sweep, and that has changed drastically this week.

Los Angeles fell for a second consecutive game on Wednesday night to the Rockets, 99-93, in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. It reduced the Lakers’ former three-game lead to one, 3-2, and Lakers analyst Aron Cohen suggested a theory that’s gaining traction.

“Lakers just buying Luka [Doncic] some more time?,” Cohen posted with a nervous emoji via X on Wednesday after the loss.

Lakers pundit Ryan Rueda likewise subscribed to that theory. After all, the Rockets became the 16th team to rally from 3-0 to reach Game 6, and Houston has done it without star Kevin Durant due to injury.

“The Lakers are just buying time until Luka Doncic is back and ready for OKC in round two,” Rueda wrote via X on Wednesday. “Relax, y’all. Lakers in 6.”

Emmy-winning sports film director Jason Gallagher also chimed in with a thought on Doncic’s absence. The Lakers  won three straight to end the regular season after Doncic’s April 2 injury, and then took a 3-0 lead over the Rockets, but the past two games showed something all to clear for Gallagher.

“Hot take alert,” Gallagher wrote via X. “I think Luka Doncic was really important to the success of the Los Angeles Lakers this season.”

Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 35.8 minutes of play per game in 64 contests this season. He joined the Lakers via trade with the Dallas Mavericks last year after he led the Mavs to the NBA Finals in 2024.

Luka Doncic Recovery Timeline

Doncic sustained a Grade 2 left hamstring strain on April 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, ironically the Lakers’ opponent if they advance. His recovery timeline is 4-6 weeks, and he showed improvement with a return to on-court activity, which the New York Post’s Michael Duarte detailed on Wednesday.

Going to Game 6 buys the Lakers at least two extra days of recovery for Doncic before the Thunder series. If the Lakers and Rockets go to a Game 7 on May 3, that would give Los Angeles another two games for Doncic to rest, but that also puts the season on the line in one game.

That said, Oklahoma City is the toughest possible draw for the second round of the playoffs. The defending NBA champions won a league-best 64 games this season and swept the Phoenix Suns convincingly in the quarterfinals.

No other NBA team pulled a sweep for the first round this year. The Spurs took one loss against the Portland Trailblazers before advancing as the only other team to finish a first-round series thus far.

Lakers Successful in Game 7s If Needed

The Lakers will need Doncic back for all of that series if they can dispatch the Rockets. If the Lakers don’t win Game 6 on Friday at the Toyota Center in Houston, the series will at least shift back to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles doesn’t lose Game 7s at home historically. The Lakers have a 15-1 home record all-time in Game 7s at home but a 1-7 record on the road. That’s another consideration for having Doncic in the second round against a dominant Thunder team.