Lakers lose Austin Reaves for at least four weeks with calf strain
lakers-austin-reaves-out-four-weeks-calf-strain
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks after an MRI on Friday revealed a grade 2 strain of his left gastrocnemius muscle, a source told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Reaves was pulled at halftime of Thursday night’s 119-96 home loss to the Houston Rockets because of soreness in the same calf. He exited Crypto.com Arena without a brace on the leg, but imaging the following day confirmed the more significant injury.
The 27-year-old had already sat out three games earlier this month with what the team called a mild left calf strain. He returned Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, coming off the bench to score 17 points in 22 minutes, and was still on a minutes restriction, head coach JJ Redick said.
Despite that limitation, Reaves started versus Houston and produced 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting over 15 first-half minutes before being shut down. Marcus Smart opened the third quarter in his place.
The Lakers have not announced a timetable beyond the initial four-week estimate for Reaves’ return.
Source: ESPN
