![\"JJ](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2265061741-e1775149630575.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick credits the team’s health for its successful stretch in March.<\/p>\n
Slovenian guard Luka Doncic is not expected to be ready for Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> versus Houston Rockets<\/a> playoff series that begins on Saturday.<\/p>\n Doncic, currently in Europe seeking alternative treatment for his injured hamstring, visited his home country of Slovenia over the weekend to spend time with his daughters. He is reportedly slated to return to Madrid early this week to complete a second round of stem cell therapy to expedite his injury recovery.<\/p>\n According to Slovenian outlet Ekipa<\/a>, Doncic is expected to rejoin his Lakers teammates \u201cmidweek\u201d this week, meaning he will be on the sidelines for Game 1 on Saturday.<\/p>\n Luka Doncic Injury Update<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a short break in Slovenia, Luka will soon return to Madrid for a new series of therapies,\u201d read a report published by Ekipa over the weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the Spanish capital, he will then fly to Los Angeles, where he is expected midweek or immediately upon entering his second half.\u201d<\/p>\n When the Lakers initially diagnosed<\/a> Doncic with a grade 2 hamstring strain, they refused to provide a timetable for his return beyond confirming he\u2019d miss the final five regular-season games. Yet, it was widely expected that he\u2019d miss four to six weeks of action, based on the recovery timeline for the same injury among his NBA<\/a> peers.<\/p>\n Based on that timeline, Doncic won\u2019t be ready until the second round of the playoffs, which typically begins around May 3-4 \u2014 unless his stem cell therapy works.<\/p>\n Lakers Vs. Rockets Playoff Series<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Ramona Shelburne<\/a> recently sent shockwaves when she predicted that Doncic may actually be cleared to return by the latter half of the first round.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, this is on a platter for him. Just write the final scene there. I mean, everybody\u2019s out, his back\u2019s against the wall. Can he still have it? This is it. It sets up for it,\u201d Shelburne told ESPN\u2019s \u201cNBA Today\u201d last week.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what I understand, there\u2019s a chance Luka could come back later in the first round. He\u2019s in Spain, he\u2019s getting treatment every day. A lot of people on the team are talking to him every day. He\u2019s engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n Lakers head coach JJ Redick<\/a> has already retierated several times that Doncic is \u201cattacking\u201d his rehab and determined to rejoin his teammates at the earliest.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s, in my conversations with him, he\u2019s motivated to do everything possible,\u201d Redick said of Doncic<\/a> trying to get back to the court as soon as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cI know for him, it\u2019s hard for him not to be on a basketball court. That\u2019s his happy place.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of the handful of guys that really play year round, and it\u2019s not just international competition, but he likes to be in the gym. He likes to be working on his craft, and I think it\u2019s hard for him. He wants to get back on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n While waiting for Doncic and Austin Reaves to heal, the onus will be on LeBron James<\/a> to carry the Lakers against the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 tips off Saturday at 5:30 p.m. local time at the Crypto.com arena.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSai Mohan<\/a> covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick credits the team’s health for its successful stretch in March.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-604415","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-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604415","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=604415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}