Lakers could sit Austin Reaves to reduce risk. Why it's a bad idea.
The possible return of Lakers guard Austin Reaves raises the question of if they'd be better off holding him out for Game 5 vs. the Houston Rockets.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves was transparent about his intentions. “I want to get back out there as fast as I can,” Reaves told reporters Tuesday, April 28 at the Lakers’ training facility. Increasingly, it sounds like Reaves is returning to action after missing the past nine games with a strained oblique muscle.
But is that a bad idea? Would the Lakers be better off sitting Reaves again when they play the Houston Rockets Wednesday, April 29 in Los Angeles? Would it make sense to remove the risk of reinjury as they take a 3-1 lead into Game 5 with a chance to close out the first-round playoff series?
Presumably. the extra rest could further heal the oblique muscle Reaves strained April 2 before missing nine straight games recovering from the injury. Something else to keep in mind: Reaves, the Lakers’ second-leading scorer in the regular season, could help the Lakers clinch the series and kill any hope of a historic Rockets rally.
(No NBA team ever won a playoff series after being down 3-0, and the Rockets avoided a sweep by winning Game 4 in Houston . ) NBA PLAYOFFS: Who have been the 10 best players in first round so far? But that’s missing the more important point if Reaves is ready to play, according to Mychael Thompson, who won NBA championships as a member of the Lakers in 1987 and 1988 and is a broadcaster for the Laker games.