Dave McMenamin
Multiple Authors
OKLAHOMA CITY — Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic does not know when he will be able to return from the Grade 2 hamstring strain that has sidelined him since early April, he said Wednesday.
“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic, speaking for the first time since the injury occurred, told reporters in a meeting room at the team hotel. “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 frustrating seeing what my team is doing. I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough to just to 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 doctor told me eight weeks [recovery] at the beginning,” Doncic said. “I’m doing everything I can in the process, and I think we’re on a good way. But at the beginning, he told 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 just doing everything 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 supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working. … Just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked about how the team is balancing Doncic’s urge to return, while also protecting their star from worsening his injury if he came back too soon.
“It’s very simple,” Redick said Wednesday after Doncic spoke. “It’s when he’s ready to play, he should play. That comes with the athlete having confidence. It’s no 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 tough one for me because I came back from injuries before too soon, and it wasn’t the best result,” Doncic said. “You have to be very careful, and I’m doing everything to come back. All the recovery, the [hyperbaric] chamber, cold tub, everything I can to come back, but it’s obviously very different than other injuries 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 knows that Spain, they’re just one of the best countries to do that. And obviously, I talked with the Lakers’ doctors, so everybody 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’s why I stayed longer,” he said.
He has been back around the Lakers for the entirety of their playoff run, as they beat the Houston Rockets 4-2 in the first round and are now facing the defending champion Thunder in the second round.
“Everybody had us out,” Doncic said. “Everybody had us [losing in] five, six games … and we proved it. We can play. The way everybody stepped up is truly amazing to see. So hopefully they continue that.”
As well as they have played, LeBron James underscored Doncic’s absence following the 108-90 Game 1 loss to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday.
“We’re playing against the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA,” James said. “And when you play against a great defense, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times. … When you play against the world champions and [miss] having a guy that averages 34 [points] and eight [rebounds] and nine [assists] and is that special, that’s [a major piece missing].”
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