The Los Angeles Lakers have had a great start to the NBA Playoffs, leading the Houston Rockets 3-1 in their Western Conference first-round series. The Lakers have seen success without two of their star players, as guards Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic have both missed the beginning of the playoffs with injuries.
Doncic has not seen game action since April 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a hamstring injury, as he was ruled out for the entirety of the first round.
The 27-year-old Slovenian native played 64 games in the regular season, leading the league in points per game with 33.5 to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.
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The Lakers have thrived without Doncic on the floor in the playoffs, as they won the first three games of the series against the Rockets before dropping Game 4. Superstar forward LeBron James has been the biggest factor on Los Angeles' team, putting up 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in the first round.
While Doncic being out hasn't hindered the Lakers yet, they would love to have him back for the rest of the playoffs if they're able to advance past Houston.
On Wednesday, ESPN reporter Shams Charania provided an update on Doncic's status for the second round, should the Lakers get there.
"I'm told it is a slow path on his recovery," Charnia said on "Get Up." "If the Lakers do advance in this series and play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the next round, the expectation is that Luka Doncic will be out to start that series. There's still no clarity on a timeline."
Before Los Angeles gets to play the defending champion Thunder in the second round, the Lakers will have to get past the Rockets. Game 5 in the series against Houston will tip off at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday at crypto.com Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN.
