![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2246924169-e1765558623717.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick chats with Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic discussing on the court.<\/p>\n
JJ Redick\u2019s decision-making surrounding Luka Doncic<\/a>\u2019s recent injury has drawn scrutiny<\/a>, but a sports medicine perspective suggests the situation may not have been preventable based on playing time.<\/p>\n Redick previously said Don\u010di\u0107 was cleared by the team\u2019s medical staff to return after halftime during the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>\u2019 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>, when the star guard later exited with a strained left hamstring.<\/p>\n \u201cWe checked him out. He got work done. He was cleared,\u201d Redick said<\/a>. \u201cAgain, we\u2019re not going to put a player at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctor Weighs In on Luka Don\u010di\u0107 Injury Debate<\/p>\n In response to questions about whether Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s minutes contributed to the injury, Dr. Evan Jeffries, an NBA<\/a> and NFL<\/a> injury expert and owner of the San Diego-based Evolving Motion Physical Therapy, said there is no clear link between playing time and the strain.<\/p>\n \u201cThe previous hamstring injury \u2018likely\u2019 contributed to this \u2018new\u2019 injury,\u201d Jeffries wrote<\/a>. \u201cBut it does not mean that if he played fewer minutes, he wouldn\u2019t have injured it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeffries pointed to Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s injury history earlier in the season as a more relevant factor than workload decisions in a single game.<\/p>\n Prior Hamstring Injury Identified as Key Factor GettyLuka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts from the floor after a play during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 had sustained a minor hamstring injury before the All-Star break, causing him to miss four games, which Jeffries pointed out heavily factored into the Lakers<\/a> star\u2019s latest debacle.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main thing is that Luka had a minor hamstring injury right before the All-Star break, which he took two weeks off,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cHe came back at the beginning of February and has been playing at a high level for two months.\u201d<\/p>\n That timeline suggests the injury may have developed over time rather than as a result of a specific in-game decision.<\/p>\n JJ Redick Addressed Decision After Game<\/p>\n Redick said the situation was evaluated during halftime, with a plan in place to monitor Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s minutes based on game flow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was discussed at halftime,\u201d Redick said. \u201cWe thought we\u2019d give those guys about six minutes and then we were going to \u2014 if we didn\u2019t cut into the lead \u2014 we were going to pull them.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 returned to start the third quarter but exited with 7:39 remaining after appearing to aggravate the injury.<\/p>\n The Lakers were trailing by a significant margin at the time, adding to questions about the decision to keep him in the game.<\/p>\n Criticism Emerged Following Injury<\/p>\n The sequence drew criticism from fans and across the NBA, including the California Post\u2019s Melissa Rohlin<\/a>, who questioned whether Don\u010di\u0107 should have remained on the court given the score and earlier signs of discomfort.<\/p>\n The discussion centered on whether a more cautious approach could have reduced the risk of aggravating the injury.<\/p>\n Jeffries\u2019 comments addressed that point directly, indicating that a reduction in minutes does not necessarily eliminate the risk of a hamstring strain.<\/p>\n Luka Don\u010di\u0107 Maintained High-Level Production Before Injury<\/p>\n Before the injury, Don\u010di\u0107 had been performing at a historic level<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jeffries noted that the guard had been playing at a high level for an extended stretch and had not shown clear signs of limitation.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been playing at a high level and hasn\u2019t been hindered,\u201d Jeffries said, referencing Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s recent run of scoring production.<\/p>\n The consistency suggests the injury may not have been predictable based on performance alone.<\/p>\n Lakers Adjusting Outlook Without Don\u010di\u0107<\/p>\n The Lakers are expected to be without Don\u010di\u0107 for the remainder of the regular season following the diagnosis of a grade 2 left hamstring strain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Los Angeles has already secured a playoff spot and holds a 7\u20136 record in games Don\u010di\u0107 has missed this season.<\/p>\n The team will need to adjust its rotation and offensive approach as it prepares for the postseason.<\/p>\n Recovery Timeline Becomes Central Focus<\/p>\n Hamstring injuries can vary in recovery time<\/a> depending on severity and prior history.<\/p>\n With the playoffs approaching, the Lakers are expected to take a cautious approach to Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s return.<\/p>\n Jeffries\u2019 assessment adds context to the discussion surrounding the injury, suggesting that multiple factors \u2014 including prior strain \u2014 likely played a role.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick chats with Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic discussing on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-698313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-lakers","11":"tag-lakers","12":"tag-lalakers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleslakers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116348086851960091","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775330780_917_GettyImages-2268966069_a19c14-e1775223595431.jpg\")
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