The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed Austin Reaves back to the lineup on Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets after missing three games with a groin strain, and he picked up right where he left off.
In the Lakers’ double digit win, Reaves played 29 minutes and finished with 24 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two steals on 7-of-17 shooting.
Reaves had taken a leap into stardom to begin this season, so the groin injury came at a rough time, especially with LeBron James and other key players currently out.
After the win over the Hornets though, Reaves described how the injury happened, the process of coming back and how he felt in his return to action, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just felt a little something kind of early in that game but obviously wanted to finish the game and re-evaluate after. That was a good win for us against Miami, they’re playing good basketball. Just wanted to finish that one and then see what was going on. Went through all the things that we had to go through, treated it basically in the morning and evening just to try to get back. I don’t like missing games. I really wanted to play in Atlanta, but I think everybody thought it was just a little too early. So it was good to get back, felt great. Yeah, felt great other than my jump shot.”
Groin injuries are usually tricky to deal with, so Reaves and the Lakers were lucky that he was only forced to miss three games. L.A. was able to win the first two before beginning a five-game road trip with a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks, so Reaves returned at the perfect time.
JJ Redick believes Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves share common trait
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have grown close since the former joined the Lakers, and JJ Redick believes their competitiveness is a big reason for that.
“I think it’s in a really healthy place,” Redick said of Doncic and Reaves’ relationship. “I think what they realized early in the preseason, I don’t know if it was the first road trip or the second one that we went on, but they both realized that they both enjoy talking trash a lot. And their personalities in that regard are very similar so they can sort of create a little bit of chemistry with each other just by being their natural selves.”
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