EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves remains uncertain about his availability for Wednesday night’s critical playoff matchup against the Houston Rockets, as he continues recovering from an oblique muscle strain that has kept him off the court for almost a month.
Speaking with media on Tuesday for the first time since sustaining the injury on April 2nd during a game against Oklahoma City, Reaves displayed measured confidence about his potential comeback. The Lakers’ second-highest scorer had been marked as questionable for the previous two playoff games but remained on the bench as Los Angeles managed to split those contests, securing a commanding 3-1 advantage in their opening-round series.
“I want to get back out there as fast as I can,” Reaves told reporters at the team’s practice facility. “I feel good. Trending in the right direction. I can’t wait to get up (Wednesday) and attack another day.”
Head coach JJ Redick remained tight-lipped regarding the team’s decision-making process surrounding Reaves’ status, stating his participation would be “based on whether he’s good to go. We’ll talk through that.”
The injury represents the second significant setback during what has otherwise been a stellar campaign for Reaves. Despite appearing in only 51 games this season, he posted impressive numbers with 23.3 points per game alongside 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds. His limited appearances stemmed from both the current oblique issue and a left calf strain that forced him to miss 19 consecutive games spanning from Christmas through February.
While Reaves managed to complete the Oklahoma City contest where he initially suffered the injury, he recognized its severity due to his typically high threshold for pain. Notably, NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic also departed that same game with a hamstring strain, and both prolific scorers have remained sidelined since that date.
Despite their absence, Reaves has been encouraged by his teammates’ performance during the playoff run.
“Basically the message from that day forward was that they were going to do everything as a team to give us an opportunity to come back and play, and they’ve done exactly what they said,” Reaves explained.
LeBron James and the supporting roster have exceeded expectations by capturing the opening three games of their first-round matchup, placing the favored Rockets on the edge of elimination. Their Game 3 overtime victory proved particularly dramatic, as they overcame a six-point deficit with just 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
“It’s been a lot of fun, just seeing the determination, the togetherness, and just the joy of them playing basketball together (and) competing every single possession,” Reaves observed. “It’s been a lot of fun. Me and Luka talk about it every time we’re watching — just how hard we’re playing, the attention to detail and the togetherness.”
Doncic remains far from returning to action, potentially leaving both squads without their leading scorers for Game 5. Houston’s star Kevin Durant has been absent for three of the four series games due to his own injury concerns and did not participate in Tuesday’s practice session in Houston before the team’s flight to Los Angeles.
