Austin Reaves of the Lakers listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Mavericks.
DALLAS — Following the diagnosis of Luka Doncic’s left hamstring strain, which will keep him out indefinitely, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick announced that Austin Reaves underwent an MRI on his left oblique/rib area on Saturday, making the shooting guard’s availability for the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday uncertain.
Although the team is short-handed — guard Marcus Smart is also day-to-day after missing the last six games due to groin and ankle injuries — Redick emphasized the Lakers’ determination remains strong.
“Our mission hasn’t changed,” Redick stated. “The rest of these guys and my staff, we’re pursuing the 3-seed and aiming to win a playoff series. We’ll see what happens with Luka.”
L.A. (50-27) currently holds a one-game advantage over the No. 4 Denver Nuggets, a two-game lead on the No. 5 Houston Rockets, and a three-game lead on the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves with five games left in the season. The Lakers also possess the tiebreaker against all three teams, having already won the season series against each.
The team announced on Friday that Doncic has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, an injury that generally requires about a month for recovery. The Lakers have not provided a timeline for Doncic’s return, other than confirming he will miss the remainder of the regular season. The first round of the NBA playoffs is set to begin in two weeks.
Reaves sustained a tweak to his left side during the first half of the Lakers’ 139-96 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. He returned to the locker room for assessment but came back to finish the game with a team-high 15 points in 27 minutes.
“I went back to get a rebound, overextended a little bit, and I felt something,” Reaves explained after the game. “But I feel decent right now, so we’ll see.”
Reaves underwent two MRI scans on the injury after the initial one examined the incorrect area of his body.
“I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” Redick remarked. “Not on our end.”
Both Reaves and Smart did not fully participate in the team’s practice on SMU’s campus on Saturday.
With Doncic sidelined and Reaves’ status uncertain, Redick indicated that L.A. would distribute the offensive responsibilities among several players, naming LeBron James, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton.
“I mean, it’s a challenge for us,” James said after practice. “It’s always got to be a next-man-up [mentality]. But there’s no way you can replace that type of impact. So, it’s going to be a collective effort. We all have to find a way to contribute a little more. … But now we need to be even more precise in our execution. When you lose a special player like that, you can’t afford as many mistakes. So we need to address that.”
James had transitioned into the Lakers’ third option during their recent successful stretch, with Doncic and Reaves handling the majority of playmaking duties. Over his last seven games, James averaged 15.6 points on 46.3% shooting (25.0% from three), along with 7.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists. He averaged only 11.7 field goal attempts during that period, significantly lower than his career average of 18.6 per game.
“You have to adjust your mindset a bit when your role changes, whatever the case may be, or what’s required of you for the team,” James said when asked how he would mentally prepare for the upcoming challenge. “So, the mindset shifts a little, for sure.”
Redick mentioned plans to expand the rotation temporarily, increasing from nine players to possibly 11, and noted that Kobe Bufkin, Nick Smith Jr., and Dalton Knecht would join the team in Dallas after competing for the South Bay Lakers in the G League playoffs.
“All hands on deck,” Redick added.
After facing the Mavericks on Sunday, the Lakers will play three consecutive games against teams that will be involved in the Western Conference playoff race — Oklahoma City on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, and the Phoenix Suns on Friday — before concluding the season next Sunday at home against the Utah Jazz.
“This team plays extremely hard … ,” James said regarding Dallas. “They just had a tough matchup against Orlando. We know we have OKC. We have Golden State, who is still in contention. We have Phoenix, who is also fighting. So, it will still be challenging for us. We need to be prepared for that.”
