Austin Reaves cleared to play for Lakers, Kevin Durant remains out for Rockets in Game 5
Reaves' return is a boost for the Lakers offense in a game where they are looking to close out Houston.
LOS ANGELES — An hour before game time, Austin Reaves was out going through his usual warmup. His jumper looked smooth and he moved well (as much as one can tell in a half-speed warmup). He came out of that session feeling good.
It was the final hurdle — Reaves has been cleared and will play in Game 5 for the Lakers as they try to close out the Rockets. At the same time, Kevin Durant remains out for Houston due to a bone bruise in his sprained ankle. In a series where the Rockets defense made life difficult for LeBron James in Game 4 — and the Lakers remain without Luka Doncic (hamstring) — Reaves' return is a huge boost to the Lakers offense, both shooting and shot creation.
"Offensively, if he is able to go, we just want Austin to be Austin," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "As the series has gone on, their pressure and physicality have just increased every game and ball handling has been important for us all series, so he will certainly help there. " How do the Rockets defend him?
"Schematically, it doesn't change much," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. "The plays that they run for [Luke] Kennard are really out of his playbook. So they do a lot of those similar things, but the way he goes about it is different.