Why Luka Doncic isn't playing for Lakers tonight vs. Rockets with injury news originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t expected to possess a 2-0 lead to begin their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

After all, Los Angeles has been forced to navigate life without their top two scorers, Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), which many believed was a recipe for disaster for the short-handed No. 4 seed. However, thanks to back-to-back stellar performances from sharpshooter Luke Kennard and age-defying contributions from LeBron James, the Lakers are just two wins away from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, though, they’ll still be without Doncic on Friday night when they face the Rockets for Game 3, as he’s already been ruled out for the upcoming postseason clash.

If Los Angeles had lost either of the first two playoff contests against the Rockets, the stress level entering Friday would be far higher. However, with the Lakers having complete control of the series and realistically only needing one road win to feel confident about closing it out, not having Doncic in the lineup isn’t the end of the world.

The ultimate goal for the Lakers is to cruise to a round 1 win over the Rockets and give Doncic ample time to rest before eventually returning to the hardwood. So far, the Lakers are sticking to the script, and it’s already paying dividends for them.

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