Lakers coach JJ Redick said Luka Doncic could debut either Saturday against Indiana or Monday against Utah.
Doncic, who the Lakers acquired in a blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick, hasn’t played since Christmas because of a calf injury. After the Lakers’ Wednesday practice, Doncic participated in a 5-on-5 game with low-minute players and coaching associates.
“We’re kind of just assessing it day-by-day. We hope to have him back within the next few games,” Redick said after practice. “He was a participant. We just had non-contact practice today. But we got some good work in for about 45 minutes. And he’ll have a stay-ready game at some point. And over the next two days, Thursday, Friday, he’ll have some more opportunities to play live basketball. And then we’ll make a decision on Saturday. If it’s not Saturday, hopefully it’s Monday.”
Read more: Plaschke: Luka Doncic joins Lakers with bad baggage … and that’s a good thing
Doncic said he took more time in this recovery for his calf injury in order to get things back to 100%.
After Wednesday’s practice, Doncic’s friend and former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith defended Doncic and his conditioning.
“I know him, man. He wants to play the whole game. Now I think he played like 40 minutes every game last playoffs,” Finney-Smith said. “So that’s one thing about L, he a hooper, he want to play. So I don’t really look at the noise, I look at his production and he produced. … If I’m putting up them type of numbers, maybe I need to be 270.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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