LOS ANGELES — Austin Reaves, who had played himself into All-Star consideration in the first two months of the season, left the Los Angeles Lakers’ Christmas Day game with soreness in his left calf.
Reaves, who missed three games last week with a Grade 1 calf strain, played Tuesday in Phoenix before looking sharp in 15 first-half minutes against the Houston Rockets, when he scored 12 points. Reaves, though, wasn’t with the Lakers to start the second half, replaced in the lineup by guard Marcus Smart.
Reaves will undergo a MRI on the calf Friday, according to a league source.
Without Reaves, the Lakers went on to lose 119-96, their third straight defeat. After the game, coach JJ Redick said Reaves “clearly felt something” but had no other update.
Reaves is averaging 27.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.5 assists this season, emerging not only as one of the Lakers’ top players on the court but also as one of their more respected voices in the locker room.
The latest issues with Reaves’ calf come as the Lakers have admitted they’ve needed a lot out of the guard as the team opened the season without LeBron James, and at times, without Luka Dončić.
Reaves underwent testing on his calf following the Lakers’ loss in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, which revealed a mild calf strain. He sat for three games before returning to play the Suns with a minutes restriction, coming off the bench against Phoenix. Reaves returned to the starting lineup Thursday, though he was still under a minutes restriction.
Calf strains, in particular, have become an injury teams and players have viewed with increased caution.
“I would venture to say every player is a little bit different, but players now are becoming more cautious, to use that word again, more cautious when they get those diagnosis with the calf,” Redick said on Dec. 13 after Reaves’ initial MRI. “Everything looks clean. It’s not in the deep part.”