UPDATE: Austin Reaves has been ruled out tonight vs. the Rockets.
The Los Angeles Lakers received positive injury news that Austin Reaves has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s Game 3 matchup against the Rockets. ESPN’s Shams Charania spoke further on the outlook for the 6-foot-5 guard on NBA Today.
“Austin Reaves is on his way,” Charania told the show. “He’s getting closer to coming back from a Grade 2 oblique injury. My understanding is Austin Reaves is trying to play in Game 3 tonight, if not in Game 3 then (in) Game 4. He started on-court work the past couple of days.”
This is a major change to the Lakers’ outlook and well ahead of schedule for Reaves initial injury timeline. He suffered a Grade 2 left oblique strain on April 2nd, and was initially expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Tonight would mark exactly three weeks and one day from the time of injury.
Reaves took a further step forward in his development this season with the Lakers. He posted averages of 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 36.0% on three-point attempts across his 51 games. The Oklahoma product would have had a legitimate All-Star case had he not been bothered by injuries at the rate he was this season.
Even without Reaves, the Lakers have taken a 2-0 series lead over the Rockets. Luka Doncic still remains sidelined with his hamstring injury, and Kevin Durant missed Game 1 of the series for the Rockets with a knee injury.
Looking at the odds for tonight, the Rockets are 8.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Lakers hold +260 odds of winning outright with the game total set at 206.5 points.
Stay tuned for updates on DK Network.
