Blow to Los Angeles Lakers after elimination from the NBA Cup

Austin Reaves is suffering a mild strain in his left calf and will be reevaluated in approximately a week, as announced by Los Angeles Lakers this Friday. Although this type of injury usually keeps NBA players off the courts between two and four weeks, the team classified the issue as "mild."

At 27 years old, Reaves was having the best season of his career. He was averaging personal highs in points (27.8), assists (6.7), and rebounds (5.6) so far, also nearing the exclusive 50/40/90 club with shooting percentages of 50.3% from the field, 36.9% from three-point range, and 87.5% from the free-throw line.

However, his performance declined in the last two games for the Lakers, where he averaged 13.0 points with a 28.1% shooting accuracy. Before the 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, coach JJ Redick acknowledged that the recent stretch of games had taken a toll on the guard.

Redick explained that the coaching staff noticed significant fatigue after a demanding sequence of consecutive games, including matchups against Toronto, Boston, and Philadelphia, both due to intensity and the minutes load carried by Reaves.

Key Moment for the Lakers

The Lakers are now facing a week with three games, all away: this Sunday against Phoenix, on Thursday against Utah, and next Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.

Beyond Reaves' availability, the team needs to react, especially defensively, after losing three of their last five games. Redick mentioned that a video session was held on Friday to address the defensive issues shown against San Antonio, a game in which the Lakers allowed 35 points in transition, the highest figure conceded this season.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Mazazo para Los Angeles Lakers tras la eliminación de la NBA Cup