Luka Doncic’s honest confession about the injury returned at the NBA All-Star Game

LOS ANGELES – Ace he alluded to Saturdayit was a short period for Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić during NBA All-Star Game. Doncic took the court for the first time since a minor hamstring injury during the Lakers’ win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 5.

During his media availability session during All-Star weekend, Doncic admitted that he would only play a little bit in the actual game, and that his hamstring injury was fine. Of course, Dončić played only five minutes of the first game of the world team in the new All-Star format, while he sat out the second game. He finished with two points and two assists while shooting 1-of-3 from the field.

After the elimination of the world team in the new All-Star tournament, Doncic talked about how the injury felt after returning to the court

“It was good. Obviously I wanted to go out, the fans voted for me to be in this game, so I wanted to be there and be a little part of it,” Doncic said. “But (my hamstring) felt good.”

After the injury, Doncic missed four consecutive games. The Lakers went 3-2 in those games. They entered the All-Star break at 33-21 and in fifth place in the Western Conference standings. They are just one and a half games behind the current 3rd seed Denver Nuggets, but only one and a half games up on the 7th seeded Phoenix Suns and have fallen into a playoff spot.

As the Lakers try to build some consistency during the latter part of the season, one thing they’re counting on is staying healthy. Injuries have forced the Lakers to shuffle their lineups, and they have yet to have a consistent stretch where they have a full roster at their disposal.

That’s the main thing that Doncic thinks is crucial for the team to complete the next few months.

Just health,” Doncic said. “We’ve dealt with injuries a lot, so that will help.

In his first full season with the Lakers since the trade, Doncic appeared in 42 games, logging just over 35 minutes per game. He averaged a league-leading 32.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 47.3 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from the 3-point line and 78.1 percent from the free throw line.

The Lakers will resume play after the All-Star break on Friday, February 20 at home against the LA Clippers.