Wake up Los Angeles Lakers fans: Austin Reaves is coming to a basketball court near you. This time, the anticipation of his return from a grade 2 oblique strain has grown even larger. Game 5 is elevating in its probability of being the moment Reaves suits up for the Lakers again.
Shams Charania posted on Twitter/X on Tuesday morning about the expectation for the star guard to be a gametime decision again. It was on ESPN’s Get Up that the NBA’s lead insider offered a more comprehensive breakdown of the situation, though.
“Austin Reaves and the Lakers are optimistic that he’ll make his return to the lineup on Wednesday night in Game 5. … Reaves has been making great progress over the last one to two weeks, progressing from one-on-ones to larger group scrimmages with no setbacks.”
Charania highlighted how Reaves is approaching the four-week mark since the original date of his injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Barring any issues over the next 24 hours, the ESPN insider said the Lakers guard is heading into practice today with ‘significant hope’ of being in the lineup against the Houston Rockets in Los Angeles’ next tilt.
Austin Reaves return can deliver what Lakers need to close out Rockets
Getting Reaves back at this stage would be perfect for the Lakers on multiple levels. For starters, returning against the Rockets would be much easier than coming back in the second round versus the Thunder.
Houston still has plenty of defensive talent that will make the return of Reaves a difficult one. However, the recently-injured guard will not be hounded and harassed in the way he would be against the likes of Luguentz Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and company.
The other end of the equation is how important it is for the Lakers to receive the boost now.
Offense has not been the specialty for Los Angeles in the first round. Despite LeBron James’ best efforts, the Lakers have a rating of 108.6 on that end in the NBA Playoffs thus far. That ranks 11th among the 16 teams in the postseason.
It has been good enough to secure a 3-1 lead to this point, so the Lakers will take it. However, things looked particularly troublesome in Game 4. The lack of ball-handling and offensive creation had Los Angeles giftwrapping turnovers to Houston all night.
Reaves may not be the best version of himself if he suits up on Wednesday, but he will still be an upgrade over what the Lakers have managed with so far. Having that extra firepower could easily be the difference in officially setting up the daunting second-round matchup with the Thunder.
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