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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Two of the Los Angeles Lakers' players suffered significant injuries before the NBA Playoffs began, but the team still won the first game of their series against the Houston Rockets without them.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves each suffered season-ending injuries, which took them out before the postseason began. On April 2, in the Lakers game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Reaves suffered a Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain, and Doncic suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain.
The team qualified for the No. 4 seed without playing through the remaining regular-season games. Luke Kennard then led the Lakers with 27 points in their home Game 1 against the Rockets, with LeBron contributing 19 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds.
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That gave the Lakers a 1-0 start in the series, but the winning might not last long, unless they see the return of one or both of their key starters.
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Within the past day, video footage emerged of Doncic back on a basketball court, which immediately started the speculation about his return. On Tuesday, ESPN's NBA insider, Shams Charania, shared an update on how the Lakers feel Doncic and Reaves are improving toward a potential return in the playoffs.
The sense around the Lakers is that Austin Reaves is actually further along than Luka Doncic in their respective rehab processes. I am told Austin Reaves has started one-on-one on-court work. The next step for him is to continue to go through the progressions of three-on-three, five-on-five," he said.
Charania reiterated that Reaves had a four-to-six-week timetable after suffering the injury earlier this month, giving him a potential return late in this series or early in the next one. Unfortunately, the news wasn't as clear on Doncic's return, though.
"The Lakers are not expecting Luka Doncic to be back in this series," Charania shared, adding, "He is out indefinitely."
At the very least, it appears Reaves' progress is pointing towards the Lakers having one key starter back for the series. He was the Lakers’ second-best scorer in the regular season with 23.5 points per game, and also averaged 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and over one steal per game.
Having him back in the lineup will be significant, as he helped the team in several games during the regular season when both LeBron James and Luka Doncic were out. With Reaves and LeBron both playing, it should be that much more of a boost for the Lakers in this series and/or the next one, should they advance.
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