There hasn't been an official update on the timeline for Luka Doncic's return to the court — but there was an encouraging sign before the Lakers traveled to Houston .
Khobi Price
Khobi Price
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Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles during the game against the Houston Rockets during Round One Game One of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 18, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after a basket against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 25, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers smile during the game against the Chicago Bulls on March 12, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
Doncic was seen going through light shooting drills with assistant coach Greg St. Jean and head video coordinator Michael Wexler after the Lakers' practice on Thursday before they left Southern California for Game 3 and Game 4 of the best-of-seven first round playoff series against the Rockets.
At one point, Doncic gingerly took two right-handed drills while shuffling to his right side before shooting a jump shot inside the free throw arc.
He did this three times before repeating the drill on his left side.
Later in the session, took standstill 3-pointers.
Coach JJ Redick said before Tuesday's Game 2 win over the Rockets that there wasn't an update on the timeline for Doncic or fellow injured star guard Austin Reaves , adding that Doncic was going to start court work "soon".
Reaves has been seen doing court work over the last week.
Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique strain) both suffered regular season-ending injuries in the April 2 loss to the Thunder .
The Lakers are up 2-0 in their playoff series over the Rockets.
Since the NBA moved to a 16-team playoff format in 1984, teams that go up 2-0 in a series under the 2-2-1-1-1 home/away pattern have a 245-23 record (91.4% winning percentage of the series).
" LeBron [James] is making it very known not to get comfortable," Deandre Ayton said. "And JJ as well, don't get too complacent. This is the playoffs, anything can happen, man. We want to handle business just like how we handled business here at home. And [keep] everything solid. We take the stuff we did in the lab over there to Houston."
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