The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off their most-lopsided loss of the season after they were trounced by the Atlanta Hawks, 122-102 to begin their current road trip. The Lakers will face off against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday for the second game of the trip, and they might have some reinforcements. Austin Reaves has been sidelined due to a groin injury, but he was upgraded on the Lakers’ latest injury report.
Austin Reaves was officially listed as questionable on the Lakers’ injury report ahead of their upcoming game against the Hornets. While the Lakers have gotten off to a strong start amid their early injury issues, potentially getting Reaves back in the lineup will be a massive boost for the team. With Reaves sidelined against the Hawks, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was not happy with the effort of the team’s starters.
Reaves has been out for the last three games with said groin injury. The Lakers have gone 2-1 in that stretch, and were on a five-game win streak before the Hawks loss. The Lakers guard was initially ruled out for the second night of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers last Monday. That quickly turned into the entire week.
Now in his fifth season with the Lakers, Reaves is in the midst of a career year. He had played in the team’s first seven games at a little over 37 minutes per game. He was averaging 31.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.4 steals with splits of 48.9 percent shooting from the field, 34.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 90.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Back on Oct. 26, Reaves exploded for a career-high 51 points in a huge road win against the Sacramento Kings without Luka Doncic and LeBron James in the lineup. He followed that up with 41 points against the Trail Blazers, albeit in a loss. He capped off that week with a game-winner on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, Reaves began his career on a two-way contract with the Lakers, although that was quickly converted to a standard deal. He can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season should he choose to exercise his player option.
