Luka Doncic broke his silence about his severe hamstring injury that has held him out for over a month and has forced him to miss every playoff game so far.
"Obviously this is a different injury than I've ever hard, it's been the second time I've injured the hamstring this season," the superstar said after Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. "Recovery has been a little longer, but I'm feeling good. Working every day, so I'm trying to come back."
Doncic injured his hamstring on Apr. 2 against OKC after playing 26 minutes in a blowout loss. The injury was originally given a four-to-six week timetable, but the superstar told reporters that he was personally given a recovery timeline of eight weeks.
"I don't think people understand how frustrating it is," Doncic continued. "All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time of year...it's been very tough just to sit and watch (my teammates) play."
Luka had plenty of MVP hype this season after he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 53-win season.
L.A. managed to knock off the Houston Rockets (who were missing Kevin Durant for a majority of the series) in six games without Doncic, but the Thunder are playing at a much higher level.
Even with future back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring just 18 points and turning the ball over seven times, OKC beat the Lakers by nearly 20 points.
When Could Luka Doncic Return?
The Thunder defense is historic and the Lakers need Doncic to score to have a chance.
Thursday will mark exactly five weeks since his injury occurred, and considering the eight-week timetable, he could end up missing the whole series, especially if it's a short one.
It is the playoffs however, and we saw Anthony Edwards return very quickly from a bone bruise in his knee that he suffered in Round 1. Perhaps Doncic can do something similar.
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