Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reiterated on Friday that Luka Doncic is “attacking” his rehab and eager to rejoin his teammates for the playoffs.
Doncic, sidelined with a grade 2 hamstring strain, is currently in Spain to seek alternative treatment with hopes of fast-tracking his return to basketball activities. The Slovenian was originally ruled out for four to six weeks due to the injury.
Unless Doncic can make a miraculous recovery, he will be unlikely to rejoin his teammates for the first round of the playoffs. However, if the Lakers do survive a first-round matchup against either the Houston Rockets or the Minnesota Timberwolves, Doncic could be ready for the second round, which will begin around May 3-4.
Luka Doncic Injury Update
Earlier, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed details of Redick’s conversation with Doncic and offered a positive update on the Lakers star’s rehab.
“JJ Redick says he spoke to Luka Doncic yesterday while he was in Spain and said Doncic is in “relatively good spirits” and is attacking his rehab,” McMenamin wrote.
“He said that it has also been good for Austin Reaves to be around the team while he goes through his initial phase of rehab, too.”
The Lakers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason with a 101-73 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday. After the win, Redick praised his team for enduring injuries to Doncic and Austin Reaves and still winning two games in a row to ensure they finish above the Houston Rockets in the West standings.
Lakers Ready for Playoffs
“Every year I’ve ever been in the NBA, your goal is to win a championship,” Redick said. “That’s your goal. When you represent the Lakers and you play for the Lakers and you coach the Lakers, that’s their goal every year.
“That’s our fans’ goal every year. Let’s not discredit what this group did for the regular season, regardless of what happens in the playoffs. Because to clinch home court and to win 52 games, possibly 53 games, deal with the amount of adversity we had.
“It’s a credit to our players. It’s a credit to our staff for just persevering and just keeping our head down and doing the work.”
Redick also suggested that teams could manipulate the standings to ensure they face the injury-ravaged Lakers in a potential second round.
“[Teams] are in a position where they can start looking forward to potential second-round matchups as well,” Redick said, via ESPN. “We see some of those teams rest their entire lineup basically, so they — we can’t be concerned with all of that.
“Again, I’ll say what I told the team yesterday, what I told you guys after the game — we have to figure out the formula and the belief for this group to be successful. And so, that’s our focus for tonight, and that’s going to be our focus on Sunday.”
Further to Redick’s point, the Oklahoma City Thunder sat out 10 rotational players on Friday while taking a big loss to the Denver Nuggets. Some felt the decision was to ensure the Lakers remain in the 4-5 bracket, which could result in a potential Thunder versus Lakers matchup in the second round of the playoffs.
The Lakers still have a shot at the third seed, albeit a slim one. For that to happen, the Denver Nuggets would have to lose to the San Antonio Spurs in their regular-season finale on Sunday, while the Lakers would have to beat the Utah Jazz. Since the Lakers own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, they’d move up to the third seed in that scenario.
Lakers Get Major Luka Doncic Injury Update After Suns Win