The Los Angeles Lakers expect to be without star guard Luka Dončić for the remainder of their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, but Austin Reaves has returned to on-court activity and could return if the Lakers are able to extend this matchup, according to ESPN. The Lakers have a 1-0 lead after a 107-98 win in Game 1 on Saturday. Game 2 is set for Tuesday night in L.A.
Dončić suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain during the Lakers’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2 and has been ruled out indefinitely. Prior to the playoffs, Dončić went to Spain to undergo special treatment on his hamstring. He has since rejoined the team, but his timeline to return to play remains unclear.
Reaves went down with a Grade 2 oblique strain in the same game against the Thunder, but is closer to a return than his backcourt mate. Here’s more from Shams Charania:
“The sense around the Lakers is that Austin Reaves is actually the one that’s further along than Luka Doncic in their respective rehab processes. I am told Austin Reaves has started 1-on-1 on-court work. The next step for him is to continue to go through the progression of 3-on-3, 5-on-5. Remember, early April he had a four-to-six week timetable, so theoretically that puts him on track late in this series, potentially early in the next series.”
The Lakers caught a real break with the schedule for their first-round series, which is why there’s optimism that Reaves could play against the Rockets. There were two full days off between Games 1 and 2 and will be another full two days off between Games 2 and 3 and Games 4 and 5. Here’s a look at the unique schedule, which will stretch into May if it gets to six games.
- Game 2: Rockets at Lakers, April 21
- Game 3: Lakers at Rockets, April 24
- Game 4: Lakers at Rockets, April 26
- Game 5*: Rockets at Lakers, April 29
- Game 6*: Lakers at Rockets, May 1
- Game 7*: Rockets at Lakers, May 3
*If necessary
Again, Reaves got hurt on April 2, and the initial timeline was four to six weeks, so it certainly would be conceivable that he could play by Game 6 or Game 7.
The Lakers’ win in Game 1 makes it much more likely that the series goes at least six games, especially now that Kevin Durant is dealing with a knee injury that kept him out of the opener. Durant is a game-time decision for Game 2.
Getting Reaves back would be a massive boost for the Lakers. He averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game on 49/36/87.1 shooting splits and put up career highs in both scoring and rebounds. He was second on the team in scoring and would have been 18th in the league if he had played enough games to qualify for the official leaderboard.
While they got a huge night from Luke Kennard in Game 1 — 27 points, four rebounds and three assists on 9 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range — they can’t count on that every night. Reaves, even at less than 100%, would give their offense another top-level creator who could get his own shots and take pressure off everyone else.
If Durant remains hobbled and the Lakers get Reaves back, it’s not inconceivable that the Lakers could pull off an upset in this series. And if — again, that’s a big if — they do advance to the second round, that would give Dončić time to get back on the floor.
