NBA storylines to follow
Biggest NBA stories to follow in the second half of the season.
The Los Angeles Lakers (23-13) look to shake off back-to-back losses from last weekend as they hit the road to take on the Sacramento Kings (9-30) on Monday night. They’ll again be without the services of Austin Reaves, who went down in late December with a gastrocnemius strain and was ruled out for at least four weeks.
Here’s everything to know about Reaves’ status ahead of tip-off vs. the Kings on Monday night:
Is Austin Reaves playing tonight vs. Pelicans?
No. Reaves is still out of the lineup and has been out since Dec. 25 with a grade 2 left calf strain. It’s expected that he’ll be re-evaluated toward the end of this month, which still lines up with the original timeline given by the team.
On Friday, head coach J.J. Redick praised Reaves for his level of engagement while he’s been out. Typically, when players are out with an injury for an extended time, they tend to be away from a team as they rehab on their own time. That hasn’t been the case with Reaves.
“During this stretch, and it kind of started with the first calf injury, we spent some time together before the game in my office in our locker room,” Redick told reporters. “It could be talking about golf. It could be talking about his recovery. A few times he’s come in there and gone over all the ATOs with me and (other coaches) and made some potential suggestions and tweaks.
“As much as he tries to do the ‘I’m a simple Southern kid who only likes golf,’ he’s a basketball nut job.”
Austin Reaves stats
Reaves’ injury halted his momentum on what could be his first All-Star season. Through 23 games, the fourth-year guard is posting career-high averages in points (26.6), rebounds (5.2) and assists (6.3) per game. He’s also averaging at least one steal per game for the second straight year.
