The Lakers are set to face the Rockets in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, with Game 1 scheduled on Saturday, April 18. Ahead of this highly anticipated matchup between Kevin Durant and LeBron James, the Rockets are considered heavy favorites to win the series, as the Lakers are expected to be without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
NBA insider Shams Charania appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, where he revealed his initial findings on the latest update of the injury return timelines of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
“He spent the last week in Spain, from my understanding, the majority of time in Spain, he underwent multiple injection treatments in that hamstring. My understanding is he’ll be back in the states on Tuesday, and they’re gonna reevaluate him,” said Charania on Doncic.
“Austin Reaves, he’s out for the majority of this first-round series, most likely probably the earliest for him is going to be that first week of May. So they have a tall task now facing Houston in this first round,” Charania added on Reaves.
Subsequently, Charania appeared on ESPN’s NBA Today and gave an update on his initial findings.
“All eyes will obviously be on the health of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. I’m told that Doncic is traveling back to the United States from Spain later this week and rejoining the Lakers on Friday, but over the last week in Spain, a majority of that time, he’s been getting treatment on that hamstring.”
“He’s had multiple injections as well to see if he can quicken the timeline of his return. It is a grade 2 hamstring strain,” Charania added. “And on the other side, Austin Reaves, grade 2 oblique strain, initially his timeline was four to six weeks, which puts him out at least the first week of May.”
“So, going into the playoffs, the expectations from both of these guys are that they will be unavailable for an indefinite period of time. Still, they’re both obviously trying to get back ASAP,” concluded Charania.
Therefore, Doncic is expected to be back in the States within the next three days and could rejoin the team as early as Friday, one day before Game 1 of the first-round series.
While there is hope that the Slovenian superstar could be available in the second half of the series, the Lakers’ hopes in the playoffs hinge upon how long they are able to extend the series. The Rockets may sweep them or finish the series in five games. Then we may not see either Doncic or Reaves in the playoffs.
But the Lakers will ideally have to win the first-round series to see Austin Reaves hit the court, as Charania’s update suggests Reaves is nowhere close to expediting his return and will likely miss the entire first round.
It will be interesting to see if a 41-year-old LeBron James is able to lead the Lakers and extend the series beyond five games to potentially see the Lakers’ star backcourt hit the floor once again this season.
