Luka still out for Lakers
Luka Dončić remains out indefinitely for the Lakers as they enter the playoffs, and Austin Reaves is also unavailable for the matchup with Houston (apnews.com) (latimes.com). Dončić did win an appeal to remain eligible for end‑of‑season NBA awards despite suffering a hamstring strain in his 64th game, per reporting from the Los Angeles Times and The Athletic (latimes.com) (nytimes.com).
Luka Dončić is still out indefinitely as the Lakers open their first-round series with Houston, and Austin Reaves is out as well. (apnews.com) Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice on Tuesday, April 14, that neither player would be back in time for the start of the series and that he did not expect an update this week. Game 1 against the Rockets is Saturday night in Los Angeles. (nba.com) Dončić strained a hamstring and Reaves strained an oblique in the Lakers’ April 2 loss to Oklahoma City, and neither played again in the regular season. Dončić traveled to Spain for hamstring treatment before returning to Los Angeles on Friday, according to The Associated Press. (apnews.com) Their absence strips the Lakers of the two guards who combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 12.4 rebounds per game this season. Los Angeles still went 3-2 without them and held on to home-court advantage as the West’s No. 4 seed against No. 5 Houston. (nba.com) The awards story moved in the opposite direction. On Thursday, April 16, the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association agreed that Dončić would remain eligible for end-of-season honors even though he finished one game short of the usual 65-game minimum. (espn.com) That minimum was added in the current collective bargaining agreement, and the same agreement includes an “extraordinary circumstances” path for players to petition if they fall short. ESPN reported that Dončić played 64 qualifying games and that two December absences came while he was abroad for the birth of his child. (espn.com) Detroit’s Cade Cunningham won the same exception, while Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards did not. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said he wanted an explanation after Edwards’ appeal was denied at 60 games. (espn.com) The players’ union had already been pressing to change the rule before the regular season ended. On March 24, the National Basketball Players Association said Cunningham’s case showed the rule should be abolished or revised to account for significant injuries. (espn.com) For the Lakers, the immediate issue is simpler than the awards debate: their playoff opener arrives before either injured guard does. Redick’s last public update left both timelines open-ended as the series begins. (apnews.com)
