The Lakers are coming off three days off to play the Suns on Sunday night, and they will be doing so without star guard Austin Reaves, who is slated to miss at least a week and likely longer with a left calf strain.
While the injury is listed as mild, the Lakers have made clear that they will be cautious with Reaves, both because it is only December on one hand, and because calf strains can sometimes lead to bigger issues–Achilles tendon problems, generally–on the other hand.
Reaves is in the midst of a career year, with 27.8 points per game on 50.3% shooting and 36.9% 3-point shooting. He has struggled in L.A.’s last two games, scoring 13.0 points and making just 28.1% of his shots, at 9-for-32 from the field.
Austin Reaves Unable to ‘Pinpoint’ Injury
Speaking about the injury, Lakers coach JJ Redick said this weekend that there will be no rush to get Reaves back on the floor. Neither Reaves nor the team was sure when the injury even occurred.
“For him, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact time during the game,” Redick said. “It had started to tighten up the day before even though he did very light work intentionally. Just one of those things and we’re obviously gonna be cautious with it.”
“Our performance team mentioned that the two games back-to-back [in Toronto and Boston] and then Philly again, those were three very taxing games in terms of his both intensity and workload.”
Lakers Concerned About Austin Reaves Calf Injury
Redick stated the Reaves would be out a week, and noted that players are particularly sensitive to treating calf injuries fully. The Lakers played three games without Reaves earlier in the season and were 2-1 in those games.
“I would venture to say every player is a little different, but players now are becoming more cautious, to use that word again. More cautious when they get those diagnoses with the calf. But everything looks clean, it’s not in the deep part. … It should be a week,” Redick said.
Lakers in Need of Better Defense
In addition to dealing with the loss of Reaves, the Lakers are also hoping to pull themselves together on the defensive end, where their problems stopping the ball and dealing with younger, quicker players have been exposed lately. Their defensive rating in December has been 116.7, which is 21st in the NBA.
Redick was clear that it is his job to take the players on the roster and mold them into a better unit.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room that thinks we’re a good defensive team right now,” Redick said, “but I also don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room who thinks we can’t be a good defensive team. We’ve got to get better.”
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