The Los Angeles Lakers began an eight-game road trip on Tuesday beginning with a stop against the Denver Nuggets. The trip is the team’s annual Grammy road trip as Crypto.com Arena and the surrounding areas prepare for the Grammy Awards. The Lakers are prepared for the grueling road trip, and they’re expected to get a little help in the form of Austin Reaves’ return from injury.
Prior to the Lakers’ game against the Nuggets, head coach JJ Redick revealed that Austin Reaves had been progressing well from the calf injury that’s kept him sidelined, and that the team expects him to return at some point during the road trip, as per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Reaves initially missed three straight games in early December due to a calf injury, before making his return on Dec. 23 against the Phoenix Suns. However, he was ruled out after the first half of the Lakers’ Christmas Day game against the Houston Rockets, and he has not played since.
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The formerly undrafted player had been off to a career season in which he made a strong case to be named to his first All-Star selection. In the 23 games that he’s played in, he was averaging a career-high 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 50.7 percent shooting from the field, 36.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 87.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
As the Lakers dealt with early-season injuries to LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Reaves elevated his game. He dropped a career-high 51 points in a road win against the Sacramento Kings during the second week of the season, and he followed that up with 41, albeit in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He then capped-off that week with a game-winner on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Reaves has played his entire career to this point with the Lakers, and he’s heading into a crucial offseason in which he can opt out of his current contract, and sign a more lucrative, long-term contract with the franchise.