TITLE: Lakers rule Austin Reaves out at least one week with mild left calf strain
SLUG: lakers-guard-austin-reaves-out-one-week-with-mild-calf-strain
CONTENT:
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday that guard Austin Reaves has been diagnosed with a mild strain in his left calf and will be reevaluated in roughly one week.
Although calf strains commonly sideline NBA players for two to four weeks, the club categorized the 27-year-old’s injury as “mild,” leaving open the possibility of a quicker return.
Reaves is in the midst of a breakout campaign, posting career-best averages of 27.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from three-point range and 87.5 percent at the free-throw line. His production tailed off in the Lakers’ last two outings, dropping to 13.0 points on 28.1 percent shooting.
Head coach JJ Redick linked the recent dip to a taxing stretch that included consecutive road games in Toronto and Boston followed by a matchup in Philadelphia. “Those were three very taxing games in terms of his both intensity and workload,” Redick said.
Los Angeles plays three road contests during Reaves’ projected absence: Sunday in Phoenix, Thursday in Utah and next Saturday against the Clippers at the Intuit Dome.
The Lakers have dropped three of their past five games and surrendered 35 transition points in Wednesday’s 132-119 NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the San Antonio Spurs — their highest total allowed this season. “I don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room that thinks we’re a good defensive team right now,” Redick noted after Friday’s film session. “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.”
Source: ESPN
