Luka Doncic’s status is the big question hanging over Monday night’s Lakers-Hawks matchup, and the early signs point to him having a real shot at suiting up.
The Lakers guard sat out Sunday’s game against the Detroit Pistons with back tightness, missing his second game of the 2026-27 season. It was also the second time this year he has been held out of part of a back-to-back, after sitting the second night of one earlier in the season against the Los Angeles Clippers. With Los Angeles set to face Atlanta on Monday, the absence against Detroit looked a lot like a precautionary move.
Even without Doncic, the Lakers found a way to beat the Pistons, who came in with the NBA’s No. 1 defense. Los Angeles is 9-2 and sitting atop the Western Conference, so the team has been able to survive a short absence from its star guard.
The numbers behind Doncic’s start are still eye-popping. He’s averaging 40.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3. He also leads the NBA in shots per game, points per game, 3-point attempts per game and free-throw attempts per game.
Los Angeles has not released its injury report for Monday yet, but the expectation is that Doncic will land on the questionable side because of the back issue. DraftKings, though, has already installed the Lakers as road favorites, which is a pretty strong hint that the betting market believes Doncic will be available.
That line is a notable shift from Sunday’s Lakers-Pistons number. Once Doncic was ruled out, the Lakers moved from 4.5-point underdogs to 7.5-point underdogs, a three-point swing. Monday’s spread tells a different story.
Bettors will still want to watch the injury report before making any move on Los Angeles against Atlanta. But there’s also a good chance this is just the Lakers managing Doncic early in the season, especially with the workload he’s expected to carry.
With a long road trip beginning Sunday, giving him a night off before bringing him back against the Hawks would make plenty of sense.
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But the practical side of the conversation is a lot less romantic. The Lakers are still operating without the kind of trade ammunition needed to chase a player of Davis caliber, and even the broader dream of adding another star runs into the same wall. For now, the buzz is more about what could have been than what the Lakers can realistically pull off. [Read more 🡒]