Status of Lakers’ Stars Revealed Ahead of First Round vs. Rockets

The Rockets’ first-round Playoffs series is officially locked in, with Houston taking on the LA Lakers in the four-five matchup.

Houston will largely function with the same squad, with just Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams out due to injury, as has been the case for most of the season. The Lakers, though, are set to look different, with their stars in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves having picked up injuries in recent weeks.

Doncic tweaked his hamstring against the Thunder, and Reaves has been dealing with an oblique strain off and on. Their status has been up in the air for the first-round series, though slightly more clarity was offered Monday.

Per ESPN’s Shams Charania on the Pat McAfee show, Doncic is expected to be back in Los Angeles by Tuesday, with he and the Lakers eyeing a return later in the first round. Austin Reaves’ timeline is expected to be the first week of May, placing him past the first round versus the Rockets.

Shams on Luka:

"He spent the last week in Spain from my understanding, the majority of time in Spain, he underwent multiple injection treatments in that hamstring. My understanding is he'll be back in the states on Tuesday and they're gonna reevaluate him"

On Austin:

"The… pic.twitter.com/lIiLXz9m45
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 13, 2026

“[Doncic] spent the last week in Spain, from my understanding,” Charania said. “He underwent multiple injection treatments in that hamstring to see, could he promote quick healing, can he promote an expedited return? My understanding is he’ll be back in the states on Tuesday, and then they’re going to reevaluate him.”

“They have a tall task now facing Houston in this first round,”

The losses of Doncic and Reaves, even for just a few games, would be massive for the Lakers.

Doncic has been far-and-away the team’s best player this season, averaging 33.5 points on 48% shooting en route to the scoring title. He’s also tacked on 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, functioning as the centrifugal piece of their offense.

Reaves has been mightily important as well, averaging 23.3 points on 49% shooting, with 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game to boot. While LeBron James is fully capable of continuing his excellence, even in Year 23, he won’t fare quite as well without his star running mates.

The Rockets will be favored to move on to the second round for plenty, though LA's homecourt advatange, as well as the eventual return of Doncic, signal there's some uncertainty in general. Houston ended their 2025-26 regular season on a hot-streak, winning nine of their last 10 games.

Game 1 of Rockets-Lakers is set for Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be aired on ABC.