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Somewhere along the line in the playoffs, things start to become slightly less rational. Minutes get longer, rotations get shorter and seemingly any injury is handled with more hopeful prognoses than it likely deserves.

That is why what Lakers coach JJ Redick said about managing a return to play actually lands, especially with Luka Dončić working his way through his own recovery.

The blueprint on bringing an injured player back

When Redick was asked what the blueprint is for bringing a player back, he made it noticeably clear where he stood on the matter.

Where is Luka Doncic in his recovery?

When specifically asked about where Doncic was in his hamstring strain recovery from an injury earlier this month, Redick said the following.

Competitors will always push themselves

Then Redick added something that hits even closer when you are talking about a player like Doncic:

That is the part that hits home about Doncic.

He is not a guy you can bring back as an easy role player and have him be under the radar. The offense flows through him, and if things get off track, it is up to Doncic to try and get them back on track. It is a huge responsibility for anyone, much less a guy who is not fully healthy.

Doncic will play if he thinks he is capable

Doncic is also a guy who is not going to offer himself up to sit out.

That is not a knock on Luka. That is why Luka is Luka. But when it comes down to that, that burden gets moved to somebody else; not so much to what Luka is willing to accept and more so to what his team will allow him to do.

Because there is a significant difference between playing through a game versus making the necessary adjustments to make it work for a series.

Redick did nothing to break ground with those comments; he just stated the clear conflict in plain English. The expectation should be: If the body can make it happen, then do so, and if the body cannot, then sit.

It is tough to stay rigid with that standard when the games start piling up, and the stakes are one game higher each time.

And this Doncic issue is exactly what will make the outcome very interesting. Not the statement, but what the team chooses to do with the statement.