Updated timeline as Lakers’ Luka Doncic begins return-to-play protocol

Luka Doncic is now more than four weeks removed from the Grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered April 2 against the Thunder. 

The original unforgiving recovery timeline was four to eight weeks.

A biological boundary to return to sports, and for athletes like Doncic, whose game is defined by quick and sudden stops and starts, recovery can take even longer. 

Despite that, Doncic has begun his return-to-play protocol and is slowly ramping back up on the court. 

Doncic has taken an aggressive approach to his recovery, even by superstar standards. After suffering the injury, he took a trip to Spain for advanced treatment hoping to expedite the recovery process. 

During the Lakers first round series against the Rockets, Doncic was able to ease back into shooting and controlled movement on the court.

However, as Lakers’ head coach J.J. Redick said on Tuesday, Doncic has yet to be upgraded to one-on-one action yet. 

In the return-to-play ladder, that step is an important threshold. It’s where actual competition begins.

Austin Reaves recently returned from an oblique injury and he began one-on-one drills roughly a week before he stepped back onto the court. 

Thankfully for Reaves, he had a clean progression with no setbacks. If Doncic is able to follow that same arc — and that’s a big if — then his timeline could rapidly increase. 

Unfortunately for the Lakers, time isn’t on their side. 

The Western Conference semifinals are set to begin between May 2 and 4. 

A return for Game 1 at this point, especially for a player whose game depends on torque, deceleration, and violent changes of pace, seems unlikely. Depending on when the series begins, Game 2 seems doubtful as well.

But a potential Game 3 back in Los Angeles could be a pivot point.

Provided that Doncic begins one-on-one action soon, and he’s on a similar progression as Reaves was, then closer to the five-week mark seems more plausible. 

Until then, the Lakers fragile math equation remains the same.

Continue to win and survive in the postseason so Doncic can come back and make an impact later in the series.

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