Luka Doncic says he wasn't close to returning from injury before Lakers' season ended
Luka Doncic says he never got close to being healthy enough to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs. Doncic incurred a grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2, and the NBA scoring champ missed the Lakers' final 15 games, including their entire postseason run. After a shocking first-round series victory over Houston without Doncic, Los Angeles' season ended Monday night with a 115-110 loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who completed a four-game sweep.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic says he never got close to being healthy enough to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs. Doncic incurred a grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2, and the NBA scoring champ missed the Lakers' final 15 games, including their entire postseason run. After a shocking first-round series victory over Houston without Doncic, Los Angeles' season ended Monday night with a 115-110 loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who completed a four-game sweep.
“I know some people wanted me (to come) back, but obviously I wasn’t close to clearing,” Doncic said. “If I could be out there, I would be, 100%. Everybody in that room knows this is really tough.
This is the best time to play basketball. ” Doncic said he is running and shooting, but he hasn't progressed to contact work in practice. The Slovenian superstar will probably need another week or two to reach that stage, which pushes his total recovery time toward the two full months that is often required for a return from that level of hamstring injury.
Doncic acknowledged that the disappointing end overshadowed the many good elements of his first full season with the Lakers. He averaged 33. 5 points, 8.