The Los Angeles Lakers set their injury report ahead of game one of the second round.
The Los Angeles Lakers begin their second round series on Tuesday when they take on the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite being shorthanded throughout the first round, the four-seed Lakers bested the five-seed Houston Rockets in six games. The Lakers took a commanding 3-0 series lead, but lost the next two games, putting some worry into the hearts of fans. They ended up closing out Houston with a 20-point victory in game six to advance.
The one-seed Thunder had no issues against the eight-seed Phoenix Suns, sweeping them in four games. It was the third straight first round sweep for the Thunder, who finished the year with the best record in the NBA for a second straight season.
Game one goes down at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City with a start time of 8:30 PM ET
Los Angeles Lakers Injury Report
Luka Doncic is OUT with a left hamstring strain. Doncic has been sidelined since April 2, when he suffered the injury against the Thunder. The latest report from ESPN said that Doncic is expected to miss the start of the series and that he's still being evaluated on a week-to-week basis. It is unclear if he will return at any point in this series.
The Lakers are expected to start LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton as that was their starting lineup for game six against the Rockets.
Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes, and Jake LaRavia all played over 15 minutes the closeout game and are expected to be the top options off the bench.
Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report
Jalen Williams is OUT with a left hamstring strain. Williams suffered the injury in game two against the Suns on April 22. He is being reevaluated on a week-to-week basis. It is unknown if he will be available at any point in this series. He was limited to 33 games in the regular season due to various injuries, including a right hamstring strain and offseason wrist surgery.
Thomas Sorber is OUT after undergoing ACL surgery in the offseason. He missed the entire year and won't make his NBA debut until next season.
The Thunder will likely start Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Lu Dort.
Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace are the top two options off the bench, but Jaylin Williams, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe will all likely see minutes depending on the matchup and situation.