Happier times.<\/p>\n
Now Doncic and Austin Reaves are both sidelined at least for the rest of the regular season and likely through the first round of the playoffs. The injury updates that came on consecutive days following Thursday\u2019s 43-point loss to Oklahoma City felt like a devastating series of gut punches. Coach JJ Redick often talks about \u201cnot letting go of the rope.\u201d The Lakers will have to white-knuckle their way through the next few weeks without their two stars.<\/p>\n
Why is Luka Doncic in Europe? ![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775597831_424_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts after sustaining a hamstring injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2.<\/p>\n
(Cooper Neill \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
He knows magic. Now Luka Doncic needs medicine to help pull off his next stunning trick.<\/p>\n
With the playoffs approaching, Doncic traveled to Europe to seek treatment for his strained left hamstring, his agent, Bill Duffy, confirmed to The Times\u2019 Broderick Turner<\/a>. The hope is that with specialized treatments, Doncic can speed up what is typically a four- to six-week recovery process and get back in time for at least part of the Lakers postseason, which begins April 18.<\/p>\n Ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections and stem cell injections are the most common treatments for injuries of this nature, said Kenton Fibel, a primary care sports medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics.<\/p>\n The biologic injections can speed up healing of injured tissue. PRP injections use the natural growth and anti-inflammatory factors in platelets to promote healing while stem cells harvested from a patient\u2019s bone marrow or adipose tissue similarly help with the regeneration and turnover of the healing tissue into normal muscle tendon tissue, Fibel said.<\/p>\n Top U.S. athletes have gone to Europe to seek the treatments for decades. Kobe Bryant, former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey are among those who\u2019ve crossed the pond for solutions to chronic injuries. But similar treatments are also available in the United States.<\/p>\n In the U.S., only PRP and stem cell injections coming from a patient\u2019s own body are allowed and the cells are not allowed to be manipulated, Fibel said. With looser regulations in Europe, doctors can attempt to increase the concentration of anti-inflammatory factors in a single PRP sample or culture stem cells over days to increase the number of them with hopes of speeding up healing even more.<\/p>\n Whether there is a significant increase in efficacy between the cutting-edge European treatments compared to the U.S. methods is unclear, Fibel said, but an athlete\u2019s decision to pursue treatment often comes down to individual comfort level or prior experiences.<\/p>\n Lakers star Luka Doncic shoots over Brooklyn Nets guard Drake Powell during a Lakers win on March 27.<\/p>\n (Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The ubiquity of degenerative conditions or recurring soft tissue injuries in sports have turned European countries, including Germany and Switzerland, into hot spots for top athletes searching for help. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are injuries that are not always that easy to completely prevent, and it\u2019s also not the easiest to always prevent reaggravation,\u201d Fibel said. \u201cAnd so I think [the new treatments] also comes from a frustration of doing a lot of the treatments and modalities that were used in prior injuries and still having an issue afterwards [so] that they\u2019re searching for something new and different.\u201d<\/p>\n Doncic knows the routine when it comes to hamstring injuries. As a player who thrives on his shifty change of pace, Doncic\u2019s quick start and stop motions put extra load on his hamstrings and put him at risk of reinjury. Another left hamstring strain sidelined him for four games earlier this season.<\/p>\n Now with a Grade 2 injury, Doncic\u2019s timeline for recovery would typically be four to six weeks. A Grade 2 injury shows \u201ctrue disruption\u201d that involves about 50% of the tissue, Fibel said. The most severe Grade 3 is used to describe a more significant, if not complete, tear of the muscle or tendon. The Lakers have suffered several Grade 2 injuries this season, including Austin Reaves\u2019 latest left oblique strain.<\/p>\n The timing of the injuries couldn\u2019t be worse for the Lakers. Not only do the playoffs begin in less than two weeks, but the Lakers were playing their best basketball of the season before the injuries to Doncic and Reaves. They appeared to be legitimate contenders in the playoffs. Now they must wait to see if Doncic\u2019s super serum turns him into a superhero capable of saving their postseason. <\/p>\n \u201c[Doncic is] going to go through all the necessary things to be back at some point,\u201d Redick said, \u201cand it\u2019s our job again to extend the season so both those guys can get back.\u201d<\/p>\n Scoreboard watching Lakers star LeBron James reacts during a game against the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 28.<\/p>\n (Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n It\u2019s true what they say: No lead is safe in the NBA.<\/p>\n Just when it looked like the Lakers were likely to finish third in the West, the Nuggets found a rhythm, the Lakers got bitten by the injury bug and the Rockets refused to relent.<\/p>\n Reeling from the loss of their two leading scorers, the Lakers have fallen to fourth in the West with Denver surging on a nine-game winning streak. After an overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, the Nuggets (51-28) have a half-game advantage over the Lakers for the No. 3 seed.<\/p>\n The good news: The Lakers can\u2019t drop below the fifth seed, thanks to Minnesota\u2019s recent slide. They also have an additional cushion from their exceptional March, which gave them head-to-head tiebreakers against Denver and Houston.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t repeat the obvious injury-related bad news.<\/p>\n To drop to fifth, the Lakers have to be 2-2 (or worse) in their last four games, while the Nuggets, who have the head-to-head tiebreaker against Houston, go at least 2-1 and the Rockets (49-29) run the table. The Nuggets have the tougher schedule between the three teams, though, playing both Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the final three games.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at the remaining games for the teams fighting for third, fourth and fifth in the West:<\/p>\n (Thuc Nhi Nguyen \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n On tap<\/p>\n Tuesday vs. Thunder (62-16) 7:30 p.m. PDT<\/p>\n The Lakers won\u2019t be able to undo last week\u2019s 43-point loss in Oklahoma City, but a competitive showing in the rematch could at least offer a much-needed confidence boost entering the postseason.<\/p>\n Thursday at Warriors (36-42), 7 p.m. <\/p>\n The Warriors are in position to eke into the play-in tournament as the 10th seed. Believe it or not, this could be the last meeting between LeBron James and Stephen Curry in their illustrious careers as the 41-year-old James enters unrestricted free agency this summer.<\/p>\n Friday vs. Suns (43-35), 7:30 p.m. <\/p>\n Phoenix is currently seventh in the West with a chance to chase down sixth-place Minnesota for a playoff berth. Dillon Brooks recently returned from a fractured left hand that kept him out for about six weeks. The Suns went 9-9 during his absence.<\/p>\n Sunday vs. Jazz (21-58), 5:30 p.m. <\/p>\n The Jazz and the Kings are in a heated race to the bottom of the conference. Losers of nine straight, the Jazz are primarily hoping to keep their top-eight protected draft pick, which was at risk of conveying to Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n Status report<\/p>\n Luka Doncic: left hamstring strain<\/p>\n The Lakers have ruled Doncic out for at least the remainder of the regular season. Doncic previously missed four games with another left hamstring strain, but that same timeline won\u2019t apply because the absence rolled into All-Star weekend, when he made a token appearance in the All-Star Game.<\/p>\n Austin Reaves: left oblique strain<\/p>\n Reaves played through the injury he suffered in the first quarter against the Thunder last week, but was ruled out for the rest of the regular season and he likely will miss the first round of the playoffs. He was injured while reaching for a loose ball. <\/p>\n Marcus Smart: right ankle contusion <\/p>\n Smart will miss his eighth consecutive game Tuesday against the Thunder as his ankle injury has lingered for more than two weeks since he got tangled up with Orlando\u2019s Goga Bitadze. While Smart has worked out with staff members on the court before games, he is still day-to-day for his return.<\/p>\n Favorite thing I ate this week (Thuc Nhi Nguyen \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n When in doubt, consult the L.A. Times. For all the news you need to know, yes, but also about your local food needs. This dinner was brought to you by the L.A. Times\u2019 best 101 restaurants<\/a> list, which recommended Lalibela on Fairfax for an Ethiopian feast. We started with the lentil sambusa (not pictured), which came with a perfectly spiced herb sauce, and shared the veggie utopia, which hits every note with the restaurant\u2019s most popular vegetarian dishes.<\/p>\n In case you missed it<\/p>\n Injury-riddled Lakers lose to Dallas; Luka Doncic to have medical treatment in Europe<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers\u2019 Austin Reaves out for rest of regular season with oblique strain<\/a><\/p>\n Luka Doncic\u2019s hamstring strain will keep him out for remainder of the regular season<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers star Luka Doncic suffers hamstring injury in reality-check loss to Thunder<\/a><\/p>\n After a sizzling March, Lakers face a big playoff test against equally hot Oklahoma City<\/a><\/p>\n Luka Doncic matches Michael Jordan for the most magical March in NBA history<\/a><\/p>\n LeBron James achieves his 125th career triple-double in Lakers\u2019 win over Wizards<\/a><\/p>\n Until next time…<\/p>\n As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com<\/a>, and please consider subscribing<\/a> if you like our work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to The Times\u2019 Lakers newsletter, where life comes at you fast. Only a week ago, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,235078,235080,85592,7225,2873,10213,235081,16895,15624,7820,85,235079,3018,6618,187558,28561,14850],"class_list":{"0":"post-592051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-big-trade-move","12":"tag-guys","13":"tag-howard","14":"tag-jerami-grant","15":"tag-lakers","16":"tag-los-angeles-times","17":"tag-next-month","18":"tag-pandemic","19":"tag-player","20":"tag-players","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-talen-horton","23":"tag-team","24":"tag-time","25":"tag-trade-season","26":"tag-tucker","27":"tag-week"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775597832_409_.jpeg\")
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