The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t ended the week on a positive note.
In addition to falling to the San Antonio Spurs by double digits on Wednesday night, the franchise learned that one of its stars is dealing with a new injury.
Austin Reaves, who’s slated to enjoy a career year with the Lakers, received an unfortunate injury diagnosis on Friday night that’ll negatively impact the 27-year-old guard and the Lakers.
“Austin Reaves has a mild left calf strain, per the Lakers," ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on X/Twitter. "Will be reevaluated in approximately one week."
Under McMenamin’s social media post, Dr. Evan Jeffries, a doctor of physical therapy, provided Reaves and the Lakers with a potential return timeline based on the extent of his lower-body setback.
"Likely why the last two games he hasn’t looked like himself,” Jeffries stated. “Sounds like a grade 1 calf strain, so likely will need around two weeks to recover.”
Losing Reaves for multiple weeks wouldn’t be ideal for Los Angeles. While Luka Doncic won’t slow down anytime soon and the Lakers should expect LeBron James to continue shaking off the rust following his lengthy early-season absence (sciatica), life without Reaves wouldn’t be simple to navigate.
Reaves’ ability to put defenders in jail in pick-and-roll scenarios before drawing fouls, finish unorthodox runners in the lane, and get hot from beyond the arc has enabled him to take the next step in his development.
The undrafted 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 27.8 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game this season, connecting on 50.3% of his field goals and 36.9% of his triples in 21 contests.
Hopefully, for the Lakers’ sake, the Oklahoma product rejoins Doncic and James on the hardwood soon.
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