Despite neither player appearing in a single game so far, one of the most popular topics for the Los Angeles Lakers has been the injury statuses of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers carry a 3-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets, and Doncic is expected to miss the entirety of the series. However, Reaves has been progressing more quickly than Doncic, and his status for Game 5 remains up in the air.
Austin Reaves is trending towards making his 2026 playoff debut and has been listed as questionable each of the past two games while still recovering from a Grade 2 oblique strain. Sam Amico of Hoops Wire reported that there is “growing optimism” that Reaves will be able to return for the Lakers in Game 5 on Wednesday.
“Reaves has steadily ramped things up,” the insider wrote. “He’s gone from individual work to one-on-one sessions and now into group scrimmages over the past couple of weeks. That’s usually the final hurdle.”
Austin Reaves Trending Towards Returning in Game 5
Austin Reaves has been sidelined since suffering the oblique strain in the April 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has missed the last five regular-season games for the Lakers and the first four games of the playoffs.
Originally, the recovery timeline for Reaves was four to six weeks, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported. A return on Wednesday would be the 27-day mark, making him one day short of the original diagnosis.
Austin Reaves was seen shooting after practice on Tuesday. Lakers head coach JJ Redick told the press that Reaves will be a game-time decision for Game 5.
Getting Reaves back into the lineup and back to full health would add another ball-handler who can contribute an offensive boost. In 51 regular-season games, Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists with 49.0/36.0/87.1 shooting splits.
After winning the first three games over Houston in the first round, the Rockets were able to avoid the sweep in Game 4 and take the trip back to Los Angeles for Game 5. Home-court advantage will definitely add on to the pressure that the Rockets will be playing with on Wednesday.
In the regular season, Los Angeles has an impressive 28-13 record at home. The Houston Rockets weren’t a convincing team on the road, having a 22-19 away record.
Lakers Look to Advance to Second Round to Take on Oklahoma City Thunder
The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder if they are able to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
Oklahoma City is the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and are in pursuit for back-to-back NBA championships. The Thunder also carried the overall best record in the league heading into the playoffs.
OKC completed their first-round series sweep on Monday night, beating the Phoenix Suns in dominant fashion.
The Lakers will have the though of facing the Thunder in the back of their mind, but they still have unfinished work as they prepare to finish off the Rockets. Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets will take place on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PST.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves Gets Convincing Injury Update for Game 5 vs. Rockets