{"id":702887,"date":"2026-04-07T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702887\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T08:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:00:34","slug":"doctor-suggests-better-alternative-treatment-for-luka-doncic-amid-lakers-injury-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702887\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Suggests Better Alternative Treatment For Luka Doncic Amid Lakers’ Injury Woes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lakers<\/a> have reportedly sent Luka Doncic<\/a> to Spain to get an injection treatment for his Grade 2 hamstring strain<\/a>. But according to renowned Stem Cells specialist, Dr. Jesse Morse, the Lakers\u2019 star didn\u2019t have to fly all the way across the world to Europe to get a treatment that he could\u2019ve received in the United States itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey guys, [this is] Dr. Jesse Morse from The Injury Expertz, so I\u2019m going to show you what Luka Doncic should be getting in his hamstring right now as opposed to flying across the world to likely Germany or Switzerland,\u201d said<\/a> Dr. Morse on X in a video released hours before it was confirmed that Doncic is headed to Spain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a placento-based tissue, this is a connective tissue matrix, an amniotic tissue we\u2019ve been using at our clinic since 2015. The first time we used it was actually from the team doctor of the San Antonio Spurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was injecting his players with this, giving them a day off and allowing them to return the next day. This is not new, and this is what it looks like. Do you see the floating issue? I just drew it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is amniotic tissue, probably half of what I would put in Luka\u2019s hamstring, to give you a gauge. Cost-wise, that\u2019s about a $20,000 worth of product, to give you an idea. So if you want to use the best, this is what it looks like,\u201d Dr. Morse said in conclusion.<\/p>\n

Therefore, some doctors will agree with Dr. Morse to say that Doncic had better alternatives in the United States itself and did not have to go to Europe to get his treatment. And considering that cost is likely not an issue for a player like him, it may have been wiser to stay in the US and get this treatment instead.<\/p>\n

But it is all in the hopes that Doncic will return in time for the playoffs. Several doctors have given varied timelines ranging from two to six weeks, depending on what treatment the Slovenian superstar is getting and how well the potential medicines work on him.<\/a><\/p>\n

However, according to ESPN\u2019s NBA insider Shams Charania, in his report about Doncic heading to Spain, he also gave estimated timelines based on what the Lakers\u2019 front office is optimistic about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectation around the Lakers right now is that both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will be sidelined indefinitely going into the playoffs. But we got a new wrinkle going into this week, and that\u2019s what I reported last night, and I can further report here today,\u201d said<\/a> Charania in his latest appearance on ESPN\u2019s NBA Today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m told Luka Doncic is currently in Spain. He traveled there because he\u2019s undergoing an injection procedure in that grade 2 hamstring area to see if he can promote healing and, at the end of the day, expedite his return process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s doing everything he can to make it back out on the court. We know a grade 2 hamstring strain typically falls between four and six weeks. He\u2019s doing everything he can to see if he can push that timeline up just a little bit. And we\u2019re still not sure exactly how this treatment goes. Does it work? How much does it speed everything up? But that\u2019s what he\u2019s doing. He\u2019s in Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAustin Reaves is a little bit of a different card. Four to six weeks he\u2019s out. He\u2019s got a grade two oblique strain. And so that timeline essentially would sideline him for the majority, if not the entire first round series.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is for both of these players to be back. JJ Redick has said it. We just have to extend our run in the playoffs to try to get both of them back,\u201d said Charania in conclusion.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the Lakers, who have just four games left in the regular season, could potentially see Doncic back in action at the beginning, if not the middle, of the Lakers\u2019 first-round series in the playoffs. But I am still curious as to why Doncic would go all the way to Spain when an alternative and seemingly better medicine was available in the US.<\/p>\n

At this point, the Lakers will likely finish in the fourth or fifth seed, as they will likely drop one of their next three games, which are against the Thunder<\/a> (April 7), the Warriors<\/a> (April 9), and the Suns<\/a> (April 10), due to being severely shorthanded against teams that are either better than them or desperate for a win going into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

My prediction based on team schedules is that the Lakers will face the Rockets<\/a> in the first round. If that happens, they will hope to have Doncic back in time; otherwise, they will likely have a first-round exit since all the burden<\/a> will be on an aging LeBron James<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If they survive until the second round, they will have Austin Reaves<\/a> back as well from his grade 2 oblique injury, and that would be the only ideal scenario for the Lakers to have a chance at winning it all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Lakers have reportedly sent Luka Doncic to Spain to get an injection treatment for his Grade 2…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702888,"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-702887","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\/116362374667076120","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702887","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=702887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}