Lakers enter crisis mode with season-defining injury blow
The Los Angeles Lakers lost one of their star players to injury in their most recent game, placing their season targets in doubt.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves will undergo an MRI scan on an injury he picked up in his side’s 106-102 win over the Clippers.
Reaves exited Friday night’s game in the first quarter with right calf soreness and did not return to the court. He will now undergo an MRI scan.
The player, who was on six points on 2-for-4 shooting, abruptly left the field of play and made his way straight to the locker room. Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game that “he was experiencing some tightness in the calf, some soreness” adding that they “held out as a precaution.”
JJ Redick on Austin Reaves: "He was experiencing some tightness, some soreness, was held out as a precaution."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 1, 2025
LeBron: Lakers “not comfortable at all”
The news of the injury to the 26-year-old will come as a huge blow for the Lakers, who were enjoying some of Reaves' best form in his career. Ahead of the game against the Clippers, he was averaging 23.5 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 11 games in February alone entering Friday, with his side going 9-2 in those encounters.
It is the second injury blow to the Lakers in two days, after Rui Hachimura suffered a strain the night before Reaves' issue. Two starters are gone from the side, but those inside the locker room will be confident that they have enough to keep going.
Luka Doncic’s arrival to the Lakers has coincided with the team winning 15 of their past 18 games, form which has seen them shoot up to 4th in the Western Conference standings, right behind the Grizzlies and the Nuggets.
James and co. will be hoping that both Reaves and Hachimura can get back onto the court as quickly as possible in order to carry on their charge at the top of the division. LeBron admitted that his side are “in a good place” but “not comfortable at all.”
“40 BALL! OLD ASS!”
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) February 21, 2025
- AUSTIN REAVES 😭 pic.twitter.com/ioPNgLCqZb
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“We haven’t played our best game we’re capable of playing, honestly”, he warned. “We have a couple injuries and things of that nature that we need to attend to as well. And that’s always very important to be able to keep it going in this league to have that type of luck too. So we’ll see what happens.”
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