The Lakers are set to face the Warriors tonight, and they will be without their key starter, Austin Reaves, according to JJ Redick’s pre-game injury update. The 27-year-old starter played 21 minutes in the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Suns, where he dropped 20 points with three rebounds and two assists. Subsequently, he is now set to miss the second game of the preseason.
Fortunately for the Lakers, the guard is not injured and is not expected to miss many games, hence likely only sitting out today due to precautionary reasons. He will soon have another chance to play against the Warriors this preseason as the Lakers are set to face them again on October 12, just a few days after tonight’s fixture. But until then, he joins Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, and Adou Thiero on the sidelines.
Who Will Play Instead Of Austin Reaves Against The Warriors?
The Lakers will replace Reaves with Gabe Vincent as the starter, according to Redick. Vincent did not play on Friday against the Suns and will suit up in the purple and gold for the first time since last season. Vincent missed practice as well earlier last week to manage the knee issues that have plagued him for two seasons.
The likely starting line-up for the Lakers would be Vincent alongside Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura.
What Austin Reaves Said About Playing During The Preseason
Austin Reaves recently confirmed that he is excited about establishing his identity on the team on both ends of the floor. Playing in the fifth preseason run of his Lakers career, Reaves is looking forward to ironing out the details that could help the Lakers become better going into the regular season.
“I’ve been a part of [preseason], this is now five times, you understand that it’s not going to be perfect the first go around. The expectation of being perfect, we have a ways to get there and we know that,” Reaves said after the 81-103 loss against the Suns.
“Like JJ (Redick) said, he was looking for three things, and those things are not uncontrollables; they are controllables. In spurts, we were doing that, and in spurts we weren’t. We just have to compete a little harder, pay a little bit more attention to the details, and we’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, it felt good, just enjoy playing basketball, Greg (St. Jean) told me twice already that I look quick, and that might’ve been the two only times I’ve ever been told that. So, it feels good, but just happy to be out there playing basketball again with these guys.”
Therefore, the Lakers’ starter is looking set to earn a long-term extension with the team this year. His future with the Lakers became a key point of discussion in the offseason when reports claimed he could demand $30 million per year from the Lakers after turning down an extension. But now it seems the Lakers star is looking to prove his value to the team this year so that he can pen a long-term extension next summer.
