The Los Angeles Lakers were blown out by the Thunder on Thursday night to derail some of the momentum they had developed. It was one of their biggest losses of the season. To make matters worse, Luka Doncic game up lame with a hamstring injury in the first half.
Despite the injury, he did play again in the second half. In fact, he ended up playing 26 minutes in the loss. After the game was finished, the Lakers were unsure just how badly Doncic’s hamstring was injured. They waited until Friday to run all of the tests.
Now, the Lakers have gotten some horrible news about his status moving forward.
Lakers Without Luka Doncic Indefinitely With Hamstring Strain
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Doncic is out indefinitely with a hamstring strain. He will miss the final five games of the regular season, and his status for the playoffs remains uncertain. With this injury, Los Angeles is now in danger of falling to at least the fourth seed in the West.
With him missing the final five games of the regular season, Doncic is also ineligible for any postseason awards. His agent released a statement about that, saying they will try to file for an exception.
“This season, Luka Dončić has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference, and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory. To ensure that Luka’s incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” to the 65-game rule,” stated his agent, Bill Duffy.
Duffy also cited the fact that Doncic missed two games to travel back to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter as a reason why the exception should be granted.
What the Injury Means for the Lakers’ Title Chances
Aside from not being able to get any postseason awards, this injury is massive for LA’s title chances. If Doncic is not able to play in the first round, Los Angeles doesn’t have the offensive firepower to replace. With him, the Lakers have the eighth-best offense in the league.
If he’s not able to go, Austin Reaves and LeBron James will have to carry a higher load. They will struggle to be able to play at an All-NBA level, which is what Doncic has been doing this year. This is the kind of injury that could end their season.
Doncic will work as hard as he can to get back, but this also could be a four-to-six-week injury. If that’s the case, they likely wouldn’t get him back until midway through the second round of the playoffs, if they are able to make it that far.
If the season were to end today, Los Angeles would face the Timberwolves. Minnesota has been the team that has eliminated the Lakers in the last postseason, beating them four games to one.
Los Angeles Lakers Get Massive Luka Doncic Injury Update