The Los Angeles Lakers might not get Austin Reaves back immediately, but they appear to have avoided a significant problem.
Reaves is day-to-day after exiting Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers with what was called right calf soreness, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. His status reportedly remains uncertain for another game against the Clippers on Sunday, but an MRI on Saturday showed no serious injury.
There was some concern when Reaves exited the Clippers game in the first quarter and was quickly announced to not be returning, despite the injury only being described as soreness. The Lakers ended up beating the Clippers 106-102 for their fifth straight win.Any time missed for Reaves would be significant for the Lakers, as he has emerged as a third star for the team in the wake of the trade that sent away Anthony Davis and returned Luka Dončić. Reaves was already having a strong season, but since the day of the Dončić trade he has averaged 23.5 points, 6.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.
His high point came in a game without Dončić and LeBron James, when he scored a career-high 45 points in a win over the Indiana Pacers. A team with two do-everything players like Dončić and James shouldn’t need much on offense from the rest of the team, but Reaves has made the Lakers even more of a nightmare to defend.
Reaves isn’t the only Lakers starter dealing with an injury, as power forward Rui Hachimura missed Friday with left patellar tendinopathy and will be re-evaluated in one week. The Lakers have games against the Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks over the next six days, with a showdown against the Boston Celtics looming next Saturday.
