The Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-1 in the first-round series against the Houston Rockets, and they have done that without Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic.
There is a chance that Reaves could return for Game 5 on Wednesday, but Doncic remains out for this series. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania had a worrisome update on Doncic, suggesting the Lakers star could remain out for the second-round series as well.
“The expectation is if the Lakers are able to beat Houston and advance, Luka Dončić will be out for the next series. There’s still no timetable for him as of right now,” Charania said on an episode of SportsCenter.
"It is a slow-path on the recovery front for Luka. The expectation is if the Lakers are able to beat Houston and advance Luka Dončić will be out for the next series. There's still no time table for him as of right now. He's starting to do more court movement as JJ Redick said the… pic.twitter.com/ayA0zuKreU
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) April 28, 2026
Doncic, who is the Lakers’ leading scorer, was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain toward the end of the season, and the expectation all along was that he would miss the first-round series.
However, there was hope that Doncic would return for the second-round series, although Charania pushed back on that sentiment on Tuesday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the next opponent for either the Lakers or Rockets after Oklahoma City swept the Phoenix Suns in four games, and th Lakers will need everyone available if they want any chance to knock off the defending NBA champions.
