The Los Angeles Lakers have been hit by the injury bug as of late with the biggest one being Anthony Davis going down with a foot injury that could keep him out at least a month.
In addition to Davis, others like Patrick Beverley, Wenyen Gabriel and Juan Toscano-Anderson have almost missed time recently, which puts extra players on the players that are playing to stay healthy.
Unfortunately, it looked like the Lakers had lost another player in Sunday night’s win over the Washington Wizards. Austin Reaves rolled his ankle in the second half and went straight back to the locker room. He eventually was able to return but clearly wasn’t moving right, so Darvin Ham decided to take him out again.
After going back to the locker room again, Reaves returned for a second time and finished out the game. Despite clearly being hobbled, he hit two late buckets to help seal the victory.
Although he clearly didn’t look like himself, Reaves said after the game that he was told he would not make the injury worse by playing.
“I’m feeling great. We won, that’s all that matters,” Reaves said. “I rolled my ankle as I’m sure you all have seen. It didn’t feel good, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing we could do to hurt it worse. That was what the guys in the training staff told me and I was like yeah, let’s tape it up.”
Once Reaves was told that the injury could not get worse, going back in to play was a no-brainer for him.
“Yeah, there was no structural damage, there was no invert in my ankle. So I was always taught that if it ain’t broke then go play. That’s what my mom and dad used to tell me so I’ve always tried to play through nicks and bruises, that’s what sports is about.”
Reaves expects to be able to play against Suns
It’s a quick turnaround for Reaves and the Lakers as they travel to take on the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. While it’s possible that his ankle swelled up overnight and he’s unable to play, Reaves is expecting to be good to go.
“As of now, I’m good. I don’t know. I intend to play just because like I said, I always try to play through little injuries here and there. That’s what my parents taught me is if you can play, go play.”
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