The Los Angeles Lakers look to get back on track on Wednesday night when they continue their road trip against the Miami Heat. But the status of guard Austin Reaves remains up in the air as he is listed as questionable with a left pelvic contusion, which he suffered in the Lakers’ contest last Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Reaves took a hard fall when driving the lane for a dunk in the first half and, while he did finish that game, has sat out the last two.
It would certainly be a boost for the Lakers if Reaves is able to return as the team has struggled without him in the lineup, especially offensively. Reaves is one of the primary creators on the team and with him out, there has been an increased pressure on LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell to pick up the slack.
Anthony Davis remains probable with his left plantar fasciitis, which is pretty standard at this point with him likely having to manage that all season long. Additionally, both D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish are completely off the injury report as both returned against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing the prior game against the Utah Jazz due to illness.
Jalen Hood-Schifino is also questionable once again with left groin soreness. The second-year guard got his first meaningful action against the Jazz, but has been out since due to that groin issue.
Jaxson Hayes (ankle sprain), Christian Wood (knee surgery), Jarred Vanderbilt (foot surgery) and Bronny James (heel contusion all remain out for the Lakers as well.
Reaves in the lineup would be a welcome addition against a Heat team struggling with their own injury issues. Most notable is All-Star Jimmy Butler, who tweaked his knee on Sunday and sat out the Heat’s loss on Monday to the Boston Celtics.
Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt now dealing with knee effusion
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they have been without defensive stalwart Jarred Vanderbilt all season long and will continue to be so for at least the rest of this calendar year.
The team announced that in his recovery from offseason foot surgery, Vanderbilt developed a left knee effusion and the Lakers are now targeting an early-January return to NBA games for the forward. It is another unfortunate setback as the team was hopeful he would be ready for the start of the season, but now looks set to miss nearly half of the year.
Prior to last season, Vanderbilt signed a four-year, $48 million extension with the Lakers but has appeared in just 29 of a possible 103 games since.
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