The Los Angeles Lakers announced that Austin Reaves (right groin soreness) will miss his second straight game on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
Both Reaves and Luka Doncic (lower left leg contusion injury management) sat out Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, with the Lakers picking up an impressive victory despite missing their two leading scorers. Doncic, however, was not on Tuesday’s injury report and is good to go while Reaves will miss at least one more contest.
LeBron James (right sciatica), Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain), Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery) and Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain) all remain out of action while Jaxson Hayes (right ankle sprain) is available to play as well.
The Lakers will Doncic in a big way with Reaves out against a very impressive Spurs team that is off to a 5-1 start led by Victor Wembanyama. Reaves is playing at an All-Star level so far this season, thriving next to Doncic and stepping up even more when his co-star has had to sit out.
The chemistry Reaves and Doncic have built has been on full display and has lifted the rest of the Lakers in this early part of the season. The duo are combining to average 72.4 points and 17.6 assists so far and have been basically unguardable. Now, it will be Doncic’s turn to lead the Lakers without Reaves.
It will be interesting to see how head coach JJ Redick allocates minutes to the other backcourt players as all have stepped up recently while Reaves and Doncic have managed their injuries. Marcus Smart has been crucial for this team with his energy, toughness and hustle, but Redick could potentially try and find consistent minutes for Nick Smith Jr. as well following his 25 point outburst against the Portland Trail Blazers.
It will again take a full team effort if the Lakers are going to take down the Spurs for their fifth consecutive win, but having Doncic on the court together gives this team a chance against anybody.
Lakers to celebrate Dodgers World Series Championship vs. Spurs
Crypto.com Arena will be even more electric than normal on Wednesday as Mookie Betts, Will Smith and other members of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be in attendance with the Lakers celebrating the Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series Championship, which the won by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in an epic seven-game series.
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