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The Los Angeles Lakers were on Cloud 9 after the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Despite not having Luka Doncic – and Austin Reaves for half of the series – at their disposal, the Lakers dispatched the Houston Rockets and began to look like title contenders; so long as Doncic would return.
News on Doncic wasn’t exactly inspiring. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the team is taking the “slow path” with Doncic, which essentially ruled him out for the early portion of the team’s second round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite that, footage surfaced of Doncic shooting around at Lakers practice on Monday, sparking positivity among the franchise’s fanbase.
Luka Doncic has returned to practice, but no contact just yet
Doncic looked relatively good, but head coach JJ Redick still admitted there was “no update” on the player’s status going forward. On Wednesday, following the team’s opening loss to the Thunder, Doncic spoke to the media for the first time in a while. He gave his own update, which contained both good and bad news.
“I’m just doing everything I can. Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. The doctor said eight weeks at the beginning of the first MRI. So just going day-by-day and I feel better every day.”
Luka Doncic explains why he spent extra long in Spain instead of being with Lakers
Doncic also answered questions about his trip to Spain, which has been the subject of scrutiny thanks to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Windhorst made it seem like Doncic only went to take some time off and have a short vacation, instead of actually rehabbing.
As it turns out, “Spain is well known for their stem cell/PRP treatments“, according to Slovenian basketball analyst Matej Petek. Doncic was adamant that that’s the exact reason he was in Spain for so long.
“I went to Spain to do PRP. Obviously, everybody knows that Spain, they’re one of the best countries to do that. I know and trusts lots of people from Spain I used to work with before. Why I was in Spain so long is because I needed four days in between every shot. So I did it four times. So that’s why I stayed longer.”
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