April 18, 2026, 11:35 a.m. ET
The Los Angeles Lakers open the 2026 NBA Playoffs on Saturday evening towards the Houston Rockets, however the collection comes with an uphill battle for Los Angeles. The Lakers must navigate it with out NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic, who’s sidelined with an harm.
The harm occurred on April 2 in a regular-season loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Doncic exited the sport within the third quarter in seen ache. An MRI the next day confirmed a Grade 2 left hamstring pressure, which dominated him out for the remainder of the common season. Before happening, Doncic was enjoying a few of the greatest basketball of his profession, main the league with 33.5 factors per sport whereas averaging 8.3 assists and seven.7 rebounds per sport.
Head coach JJ Redick confirmed on April 14 that each Doncic and Reaves are out indefinitely, providing no timeline on their return.
“They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I’m not going to have an update for you this week.”
The staff has stated they haven’t any expectation of both participant being again at any level within the first spherical, although they haven’t fully dominated out the chance if the collection stretches to 6 or seven video games.
Luka Doncic harm replace:
Doncic is formally out for Game 1 (hamstring). Head coach JJ Redick addressed the harm earlier within the week however didn’t give an excessive amount of info, merely stating on Doncic and Austin Reaves (indirect), “They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I’m not going to have an update for you this week.”
How to watch Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets Game 1
- Date: Saturday, April 18
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ABC
- Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, Calif.
