The Los Angeles Lakers have a new injury to worry about.
As the Oklahoma City Thunder served the Western Conference’s third-seeded Lakers a beatdown on Thursday, April 2, the star guard Luka Doncic left the game early.
The Slovenian superstar was seen hobbling with a little under eight minutes left to go in the third quarter. He went back to the locker room with a suspected left hamstring injury.
At the time of Doncic’s exit, the Lakers were trailing 90-58.
It was clear that any sign of long-term worry would prevent the Lakers from rolling Doncic back out in a game that was becoming a wash.
Sure enough, that was the case. It didn’t take very long before the Lakers ruled out Doncic for the remainder of the matchup. Shortly after his status was announced, it was reported that Doncic would undergo an MRI, adding more worry to the situation.
via Dave McMenamin, ESPN: Luka Doncic will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the extent of his left hamstring injury, a source familiar with Doncic’s situation told ESPN
After the game, JJ Redick dished his comments on the state of the superstar guard.
JJ Redick Makes Luka Doncic Statement After Lakers-Thunder Game
After Redick confirmed that Doncic would get an MRI on Friday, he explained the logic behind continuing to play Luka after he dealt with hamstring discomfort in the first half.
“We checked him out. He got work done, but he was cleared. We’re not gonna put a player at risk. Those things happen,” Doncic told reporters.
As far as the idea of sitting other key players goes, Redick said this: “It was discussed at halftime. Thought we’d give those guys about six minutes, and if we didn’t cut into the lead, we were gonna pull them. Obviously, it was around that time, I don’t remember the exact time, [the injury] happened.”
Doncic left Thursday’s game after appearing on the court for 26 minutes.
The Lakers’ guard shot just 3-10 from the field and went 1-7 from deep, scoring 12 points. He also dished out seven assists, while turning the ball over six times. Doncic added four rebounds to his line for the night.
The All-Star was a minus-25 when he left the game.
Where The Lakers Stand
The Lakers still have possession of the Western Conference’s third seed, after dropping to 50-27 on the year.
While a blowout loss to a clear contender certainly isn’t ideal for a Lakers team that’s gearing up for a playoff run, the loss won’t shift the standings.
However, there’s still some discomfort coming out of the game. Not only do the Denver Nuggets get closer to the Lakers’ third seed, but the Doncic injury becomes a concern for the present and the future.
The Lakers have until Sunday, April 5, before they take the court again. If Doncic is cleared, Sunday will be a homecoming. If not, his next possible outing becomes a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, April 7.