Luka Dončić said Wednesday that he does not know when he will be able to return from the Grade 2 hamstring strain that has sidelined him since April 2, leaving his status for the Lakers' postseason series against Oklahoma City unresolved. Thursday's Game 2 will mark five weeks to the day since he injured the hamstring against the Thunder, and Dončić said he has started running but has not yet done contact drills.
"It's very frustrating," Dončić said. "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."
Dončić said the doctor told him after the MRI that recovery would take eight weeks at the start, a timeline that points beyond the five-week mark the injury reaches on Thursday. He also said he underwent platelet-rich plasma therapy in Spain, receiving four PRP injections with four days between each shot, and added that he and the Lakers' doctors agreed to the trip.
The injury has kept Dončić out since the April 2 game against the Thunder, and he said that watching the team play has been especially hard. "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," he said.
There is also a reason Dončić is being cautious. He said he had dealt with a strain to the same hamstring earlier in the season that cost him four games, and he played only sparingly in the NBA All-Star Game because of it. He said he had returned too soon from injuries before and did not want to repeat that mistake. "I came back from injuries before too soon, and it wasn't the best result," Dončić said. "You have to be very careful, and I'm doing everything to come back."
Lakers coach JJ Redick said the approach is straightforward: "It's very simple. 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]." Dončić said he is doing what he can every day, from recovery work to the hyperbaric chamber and cold tub, but there is still no clear answer on when the waiting ends.
