Is Luka Doncic Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Lakers vs. Hawks)

Los Angeles Lakers superstar guard Luka Doncic missed his second game of the 2026-27 season on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons due to back tightness.

Doncic has gotten off to a red-hot start in the 2026-27 campaign, averaging 40.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3. He's leading the NBA in shots per game, points per gmae, 3-point attempts per game and free-throw attempts per game this season.

Sunday's game marked the second time that Doncic missed part of a back-to-back, as he ended up sitting the back end of one earlier in the season against the Los Angeles Clippers. With the Lakers set to play the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, it's possible that Doncic was held out for precautionary reasons.

The Lakers are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this season with a 9-2 record, and they still held on to beat the Pistons (who entered the game with the No. 1 defense in the NBA) without Doncic.

While Los Angeles has yet to release an injury report for Monday's game, it appears Doncic has a chance to play. The guard is likely questionable because of his back injury, but oddsmakers at DraftKings have set the Lakers as road favorites on Monday night.

That's a signal that the betting market expects Doncic to play, as it's a six-point shift in the spread from the opening line of the Lakers vs. Pistons game on Sunday. Once Doncic was ruled out, the Lakers moved from 4.5-point underdogs to 7.5-point underdogs -- a full three-point swing.

Bettors are going to want to monitor the Lakers' injury report on Monday before backing them to beat Atlanta, but it's very possible that L.A. is just managing Doncic early on in the season since he's expected to handle such a major workload for the team.

With the Lakers embarking on a long road trip on Sunday, it makes a lot of sense to give Doncic a night off before returning him to the lineup tonight.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

Claim the latest DraftKings promo code offer today. Sign up and get $200 in bonus bets + 3 months of NBA League Pass when you make your first $5 bet.

Add us as a preferred source on Google