By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After introducing himself to the Los Angeles Lakers with restricted minutes, Luka Doncic has been medically cleared to play without such limitations following the NBA All-Star break.
“He’ll be fine,” mentioned head coach JJ Redick in a media session on Tuesday, “His minutes will be up tomorrow. And I don’t think that there’s going to be any sort of restrictions going forward.”
Resuming action in the 2024-25 Regular Season, the storied franchise based in Los Angeles hosts the Charlotte Hornets in crypto.com Arena on Wednesday and visits the Portland Trail Blazers in Moda Center on Thursday.
Doncic, 25, suffered a left calf strain on NBA Christmas Day and was immediately sidelined by the Dallas Mavericks. From the injury list, he was traded to the Lakers on February 2. Debuting with his new team, he was restricted to 23.5 minutes per game over his first two appearances before the break, averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, and 0.5 steals per contest.
In contrast to the 25-year-old Slovenian guard removed from the injury list, the Lakers listed LeBron James as questionable with left foot soreness, after the four-time NBA champion sat out the 2025 All-Star Game. Rehabbing after a recent surgery on his right foot, German Maxi Kleber remains sidelined.
At 32-20, the Lakers currently rank fifth in the Western Conference standings, 11 games away from the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and three games safe inside the top-six zone leading directly to the 2025 Playoffs.