After Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves was ruled out against the Phoenix Suns, head coach JJ Redick offered an encouraging injury update. Reaves suffered a bruised left heel injury, and Redick believes Austin will be back in the Lakers’ starting lineup soon. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious.
Redick revealed the seriousness of Reaves’ injury ahead of the Lakers’ game against the Phoenix Suns, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“He’s improving. It really comes down to just like a pain tolerance thing,” Redick said. “Again, nothing structural beyond a bruise, so I think every day it’s been better, and we’ll see where he’s at in 48 hours when we play on Tuesday.”
JJ Redick and the Lakers enter Sunday’s matchup on a seven-game winning streak. Austin Reaves finished with 18 points, five assists, three rebounds, and three steals in the Lakers’ 123-112 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Reaves recorded a season-high 43 points in a 121-116 win against the Detroit Pistons without Luka Doncic.
Alongside Doncic, Reaves has led the Lakers (11-2) to the NBA’s best record. He’s averaging 24.7 points on 51.3% shooting, including 40.9% from deep, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. At the same time, Doncic is dominating, averaging 38.6 points, 7.6 assists, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game.
Article Continues BelowThe Lakers strung together impressive wins against teams such as the Detroit Pistons, the Portland Blazers, and the Golden State Warriors. However, their biggest test yet comes in less than two weeks against the San Antonio Spurs, who trail them by only 0.5 games in the Western Conference standings.
The Spurs will host the Lakers in an NBA Cup matchup on November 27.