The Los Angeles Lakers must take care of business tonight if they want to avoid a Game 6 on enemy territory. Fortunately, hours before tip-off for Game 5 against the Rockets, the Purple and Gold got some news about some key reinforcements that might just settle this series.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, star shooting guard Austin Reaves (27) is set to make his return tonight after missing the team’s first four playoff games. He’s been out since April 2nd with a strained oblique, but has finally been cleared to play after nearly a month of recovery and rehab. The only catch is that Reaves will be coming off the bench, a tactic intended to ease the stress on his body through a gradual progression.
Either way, his return is welcome news for the Lakers, who are fresh off their Game 4 defeat in Houston. While the team has played well overall in his absence, they clearly miss his scoring and playmaking on the floor. In Sunday’s loss, the Lakers couldn’t manage to cross 100 points, and not a single player dropped over 20. With Reaves on the floor, it would have been a different game.
This season, in 51 games, he averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on on 49.0% shooting and 36.0% shooting from three. It was his best season by far and a major catalyst behind the Lakers’ fourth-place finish in the West (53-29). His long-awaited return gives the Lakers another shooter, floor spacer, and ball handler in the backcourt to stabilize the offense and ease the pressure off 41-year-old LeBron James, who has been carrying the team in his absence.
This development is great news for the Purple and Gold, but they are not in the clear quite yet. Despite Reaves’ upgrade, Luka Doncic is still on the bench, and his availability has the power to shift the balance of power in the West. He got injured in the same game as Austin, but he needs slightly more time to recover from a strained hamstring. Sadly, Doncic isn’t expected to return in this series, but he will likely suit up in the next one if the Lakers can close out the Rockets and avoid a historic collapse. In 64 games this season, he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on on 47.6% shooting and 36.6% shooting from three.
Meanwhile, for the Rockets, this is yet another blow in what has been a disastrous playoff run. Despite showing so much promise in the regular season, they dropped the first three games against a shorthanded Lakers team, all but eliminating their hopes of winning a title. Now, as Kevin Durant remains sidelined, they face overwhelming odds of advancing in this series. Only a miracle can save them now, but Reaves’ return suggests that things are trending the other way.
The hope is that his scoring will make the difference and help LA finish off a dying Rockets squad, but they must provide enough support around him in order to win. Just like they did in the first three games, the Lakers will have to play with patience, discipline, and seamless execution to get the job done.
