The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Saturday that Austin Reaves will miss the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 oblique strain.
The news is a devastating blow to a Lakers team that’s already playing the remainder of the regular season without injured All-Star and MVP candidate Luka Dončić.
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The Lakers were previously waiting results of an MRI exam before determining Reaves’ status. According to head coach JJ Redick, a second MRI was necessary because the Mavericks scanned the wrong area when they performed imaging on Reaves.
“The second one was today,” Redick told reporters, including the OC Register’s Benjamin Royer, after Saturday’s practice. “I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area. Not on our end.
“We made it explicit where it was supposed to be scanned, but they scanned the wrong area,” he added.
Thursday’s game received more attention for Luka Dončić sustaining a hamstring strain that will keep him out for the remainder of the regular season. The Lakers have five games left before the playoffs, including Sunday’s matchup.
However, the Mavericks just keep taking hits, more than a year after they traded Luka Dončić to the Lakers and eventually moved Anthony Davis, the key figure in the original Dončić deal, to the Washington Wizards at the NBA trade deadline.
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Redick appeared to realize he was picking on the Mavs as he was explaining what happened. He also clarified that Reaves’ injury was “more intercostal, rib, oblique than it is back.”
Marcus Smart’s availability for Sunday’s game will also be determined some time before tip-off. Smart has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Goga Bitadze fell on him during the Lakers’ 105-104 win over the Orlando Magic on March 21. Redick said the right hip contusion Smart also sustained is no longer an issue.