Lakers’ Luka Doncic still unsure when he’ll return from injury

OKLAHOMA CITY — Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic doesn’t know when he’ll be capable of return from the Grade 2 hamstring pressure that has sidelined him since early April, he mentioned Wednesday.

“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic, talking for the primary time because the injury occurred, informed reporters in a gathering room on the group lodge. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially this time. It’s the best time to play basketball.

“It’s very irritating seeing what my group is doing. I’m very pleased with them. It’s been very robust to only sit and watch them play.”

Doncic suffered the injury in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2 and has not played since, ending what was an MVP-caliber campaign in his first full regular season with the Lakers.

“The day I did the MRI on the hamstring, the physician informed me eight weeks [recovery] in the beginning,” Doncic said. “I’m doing the whole lot I can within the course of, and I feel we’re on a great way. But in the beginning, he informed me eight weeks.”

Game 2 on Thursday will mark five weeks to the day since the injury.

When asked whether he intends to try to play when the series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3-4, Doncic was noncommittal.

“I’m simply doing the whole lot I can,” said Doncic, adding that he has started running but has not done any contact drills. “Every day, I’m doing stuff I’m alleged to do. Obviously recovering, now I’m working. … Just going daily, and I really feel higher on daily basis.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked about how the team is balancing Doncic’s urgency to return, while also protecting their star from worsening his injury if he came back too soon.

“It’s quite simple,” Redick said Wednesday after Doncic spoke. “It’s when he is able to play, he ought to play. That comes with the athlete having confidence. It’s no completely different from austin [Reaves]“

Reaves missed four weeks with a Grade 2 left oblique strain before returning in Game 5 of the Rockets series.

Doncic said he dealt with a strain to the same hamstring earlier in the season that caused him to miss four games and play only sparingly in the NBA All-Star Game. This strain is more severe, however, and has caused him to proceed with caution.

“It’s a troublesome one for me as a result of I got here again from accidents too quickly, and it wasn’t the most effective consequence,” Doncic said. “You must be very cautious, and I’m doing the whole lot to return again. All the restoration, the [hyperbaric] chamber, chilly tub, the whole lot I can come again, nevertheless it’s clearly very completely different than different accidents I had.”

Immediately following the injury, in an effort to expedite his return, Doncic traveled to Spain for additional treatment. He revealed Wednesday that he underwent platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) while overseas.

“I went to Spain to do PRP,” Doncic said. “Everybody is aware of that Spain, they’re simply top-of-the-line nations to do this. And clearly, I talked with the Lakers’ docs, so everyone agreed for me to go there.”

Doncic said he received four PRP injections in Spain and needed to space each shot with four days in between.

“So that is why I stayed longer,” he mentioned.

He has been again across the Lakers for the whole lot of their playoff run, as they beat the Houston Rockets 4-2 within the first spherical and are actually dealing with the defending champion Thunder within the second spherical.

“Everybody had us out,” Doncic said. “Everybody had us [losing in] 5, six video games… and we proved it. We can play. The method everybody stepped up is actually superb to see. So hopefully they proceed that.”

As effectively as they’ve performed, LeBron James underscored Doncic’s absence following the 108-90 Game 1 loss to Oklahoma City within the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday.

“We’re taking part in in opposition to the No. 1 defensive group within the NBA,” James said. “And when you play in opposition to an amazing protection, it’s important to have guys that may entice a number of defenders on the ground always. … When you play in opposition to the world champions and [miss] having a man that averages 34 [points] and eight [rebounds] and 9 [assists] and it’s that particular, that is [a major piece missing]”