Luka's hamstring status

Luka Dončić is still out with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and the Lakers are not expecting him back in the first round. (silverscreenandroll.com) The Lakers listed Dončić and Austin Reaves as out on the National Basketball Association injury report released Tuesday evening for Houston at Los Angeles on April 22. Reaves is recovering from a Grade 2 left oblique strain. (nba.com) Dončić hurt the hamstring on April 2 in Oklahoma City, and the Lakers announced on April 3 that he would miss the rest of the regular season after magnetic resonance imaging showed a Grade 2 strain. The Associated Press reported that this type of injury can take several weeks to heal. (nba.com) Reaves suffered his oblique injury in the same April 2 game, and the Lakers ruled him out for the rest of the regular season on April 4. He averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 51 games before the injury. (nba.com) When both guards were healthy this season, they combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 12.4 rebounds per game. Their absence has pushed LeBron James back into the center of the offense as Los Angeles opened its series with Houston. (nba.com) Coach JJ Redick said on April 14 that both players were “out indefinitely” and that he would not have an update that week as playoff preparation began. At that point, Reaves was limited to shooting free throws after practice, while Dončić was still in Spain receiving treatment. (espn.com) By this week, Reaves had advanced to on-court work, while Dončić remained on a slower track. Silver Screen and Roll reported Tuesday that the Lakers do not expect Dončić to return in the opening round even as Reaves progresses. (silverscreenandroll.com) Redick has framed the short-term challenge in blunt terms. Heavy reported Monday that he said the Lakers needed “the same sense of desperation” for Game 2 against the Rockets while Dončić and Reaves remained unavailable. (heavy.com) For now, the Lakers are trying to win a playoff series without the two perimeter players who carried much of their scoring and playmaking in March and early April. Dončić’s return remains a later-round question, not a first-round plan. (nba.com) (silverscreenandroll.com)