By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Los Angeles Lakers have officially confirmed Luka Doncic as out with a designation of personal reasons to start a three-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors in Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
Specifically, the 26-year-old Slovenian combo guard has returned to his home country for the birth of his second child.
Shortly after the second birthday of their first kid, Doncic and his fiancée Anamaria Goltes are ready for another family member.
Based in North America during the NBA season, Doncic spends much time away from Goltes, his longtime partner since two years before taking his talents to the NBA in 2018.
Nevertheless, his excused absence for the next team outing in an 82-game regular-season schedule leads to an uncertain status for Friday’s meeting with the Boston Celtics in TD Garden. The road trip closes on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers in Xfinity Mobile Arena. It is unclear when Doncic will return to action for the team coached by JJ Redick.
The Lakers currently rank second in the Western Conference standings behind a 15-5 record, including three wins in four previous showings without leader Doncic. Multiple dominating performances the rest of the way by the Ljubljana native resulted in 35.3 points, 8.9 assists, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 0.6 steals per contest.
Besides Doncic, Marcus Smart (lower back injury management) was also ruled out by the Lakers for the upcoming challenge. Austrian Jakob Poeltl (lower back injury management) is out for the team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic, alongside RJ Barrett (right knee sprain).
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