The Los Angeles Lakers released updated their injury report for Sunday night’s marquee matchup against the New York Knicks and Austin Reaves (left calf strain) remains out.
Additionally, Bronny James (left lower leg soreness) was downgraded from questionable to out and rookie forward Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) remains out.
A theme for this season for the Lakers has been injuries, mainly when it comes to their stars. Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves have rarely been on the floor together, playing eight total games, which feels like a missed opportunity.
With Reaves not yet making his long-awaited return, the Lakers’ team offense will continue to be dependent on Doncic and James in New York.
The expectation has been for Reaves to return on the Lakers’ current road trip and considering he won’t play against the Knicks, his last chance to do so will be on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets. The organization has said they will be cautious with Reaves all along though and after he warmed up on Sunday, it appears he is not yet ready to return.
Given the Lakers’ star trio has only played 140 minutes together, there needs to be a sustained period of time where they can grow together as the regular season begins to wind down.
With or without Reaves, the Knicks present challenges for the Lakers as they are on a five-game winning streak of their own. Their defense has slipped from what it was under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, but their offense has grown significantly under Mike Brown.
In totality, this Grammy trip has presented challenges for the Lakers, but they can come out feeling great about themselves with a win in New York. The Lakers have managed to get by without Reaves, with others stepping up in his absence and that will need to continue.
A 6-2 record on the road trip is on the table, but to make that happen they will need to defeat a red-hot Knicks team in the world’s most famous arena.
Luka Doncic looking forward to return of Austin Reaves
Reaves being sidelined for a month-plus was a significant loss for the Lakers. From the first game Reaves missed, his absence was felt and also showed truly how vital of a piece he is for this team.
Leading up to his return to the lineup, Doncic talked about how much he was looking forward to playing alongside his backcourt mate once again as they had developed some real chemistry to begin the season.
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