The Los Angeles Lakers experienced fear when Austin Reaves left the Christmas night game against the Houston Rockets with an apparent calf strain. Reaves has missed six games this season due to injury, but this one felt worse since he was forced to sit out most of the second half.
Dan Woike of The Athletic reports that Reaves was diagnosed with a grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. The bad news comes as a huge blow to the Lakers during a three-game losing streak with negative momentum building. Reaves is going to miss at least a month before he has any realistic chance back on the floor.
Even the four-week timetable is not confirmed for a return since it stated he will be re-evaluated to see if the recovery time was enough to get back to the NBA court. The Lakers are already a flawed team via lackluster depth in an all-time deep Western Conference with many teams hoping to contend. Lakers fans were hoping for better news, but the team must now win without Reaves.
Who Will Step Up Without Reaves?
Reaves is a massive reason for the Lakers having a top six record above the play-in. Incredible averages of 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists made Reaves a candidate for the Most Improved Player of the Year. The Lakers having a strong “big three” gave fans some hope they’d be able to challenge the top West teams above them.
Both Luka Doncic and LeBron James must step up even more in Reaves’ absence for the team to have any chance of success. Doncic is currently averaging a league-high 33.7 points per game, but that number must increase to make up for the loss of Reaves in the starting lineup.
James has delivered some strong games since returning from injury, but he’s been a secondary focus of the offense. The Lakers now need LeBron to play at an All-Star level to avoid the season falling apart. Every role player will also be tasked with doing more to help the Lakers keep up with the other West contenders.
Can The Lakers Survive Losing Reaves?
The Lakers need more help from more rotation players and must look at the trade block for talent upgrades. Reaves’ best-case scenario would see him returning in late January, just a few weeks before the NBA trade deadline to make it even trickier to improve the roster before he’s back.
One positive is that the Lakers hold a three-game lead over both the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors as the two current play-in teams. The biggest goal for the Lakers is to remain in the top six and guarantee a playoff spot instead of complicating things via the risky play-in games.
However, previous dreams of keeping a top four seed for first-round home court may be tougher. Both the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves are within a half game of the Lakers to give them greater chances of moving up. Luka and LeBron must play their best possible basketball in Reaves’ absence for the Lakers to avoid falling in the standings.
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