LA Lakers Guard Austin Reaves To Miss A Week Due To Injury

Just as Austin Reaves was establishing himself as a legitimate All-Star candidate, averaging nearly 28 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game while forming one of the league's most dangerous backcourts alongside Luka Dončić, he's sidelined with a mild left calf strain that'll keep him out at least a week. Considering the team just welcomed LeBron James back into the lineup, the loss might not have come at a worse time, as the trio was trying to build their chemistry. 

The silver lining? The schedule actually works in LA's favor. Thanks to the NBA Cup break creating gaps for eliminated teams, Reaves will likely miss just two games (including their 116–114 victory over Phoenix on Sunday and the Utah Jazz on Thursday) or maybe three if the Lakers play it cautiously against the LA Clippers next Saturday. It's about as good as you can hope for when dealing with calf injuries, which tend to linger if rushed. And considering the number of players and teams impacted by soft tissue injuries, precautions are often the best route. 

But here's where the timing becomes an issue, as the Lakers have bigger problems than just Reaves missing time. They've dropped three of their last six games, and their defense has been borderline embarrassing, giving up a season-worst 35 transition points to San Antonio. Even coach JJ Redick admitted after a film session that nobody in that locker room thinks they're playing good defense right now. On Sunday, the Lakers looked like they had righted the ship, holding the Suns to 41 points combined in the second and third quarters, only to get outscored 37–30 in the fourth. 

Without Reaves, who's been the team's most consistent presence while LeBron and Luka dealt with their own injury issues, expect either Gabe Vincent or Marcus Smart to step into the starting lineup, with the other seeing expanded minutes off the bench. Redick will also place more playmaking responsibility in James’s hands, which honestly might not be the worst thing, given how passive he's looked lately.

The real concern isn't these next few games. It's whether the Lakers can fix their defensive identity issues while their third-best player (and maybe at James’s stage of his career, the team’s second) catches his breath. At 18–7, they're still in good shape, sitting fourth in the Western Conference, but this stretch will reveal whether LA's early success was sustainable or just a mirage propped up by Reaves' breakout performances.