The Los Angeles Lakers continue to lose players due to injury. Austin Reaves will now miss the rest of the regular season while working on his recovery.
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The fifth-year veteran suffered a Grade 2 oblique muscle injury during the Thursday loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This 136-96 loss also included Luka Doncic leaving due to a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Doncic will fly to Europe for treatment as he also misses the rest of the regular season.
Both Reaves and Doncic sustained their injuries during the first half of the game against the Thunder. They returned for the second half. Reaves then underwent an MRI on April 3 to determine the extent of the injury.
This marks the second time that the former Oklahoma player has missed games due to injury this season. He strained his left calf on Christmas and then missed 19 games. He returned for a Feb. 3 meeting against the Brooklyn Nets, a 125-109 win. He scored 15 points.
The undrafted free agent has become a key player for the Lakers this season. He has averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds over 51 games while the team has put itself in position for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.
"Both those guys are going to try to come back, and it's our job to extend the season so that they can come back," Lakers coach JJ Redick said on Sunday while discussing the loss of both Doncic and Reaves.
This injury news puts more pressure on the other members of the Lakers, which includes LeBron James.
The NBA's all-time leading scorer will work with such players as Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes, Maxi Kleber and Kobe Bufkin while trying to remain ahead of the Denver Nuggets in the standings.
"I took my nap after practice, and I woke up with that news, it was like another shot to the (head)," James said after hearing about Reaves' MRI results. "It was a shot to the heart, obviously, and to the chest and to the mainframe with Luka."
