On Tuesday, Lakers guard Austin Reaves made his first appearance in more than a month, as he returned to action with 15 points on 3-for-9 shooting in 21 minutes. Reaves had been out since Christmas with a calf injury, but traveled with the team during their annual Grammys road trip, finally getting action in the Lakers’ 125-109 blowout of the Nets.
Getting Reaves back is well-timed for the Lakers, who managed to tread water at 11-9 without him. At 30-19, the Lakers are fifth in the Western Conference and only 1.5 games behind the Rockets for the No. 4 spot. But they’re also in a virtual tie with the Timberwolves and Suns, percentage points ahead of a No. 7 play-in spot.
Now the Lakers can head home after an eight-game trip and will play 15 of their next 18 games at Crypto.com Arena. Even their travel will be limited–there’s a two-game trip to Phoenix and Golden State, as well as a one-night trip to play the Nuggets.
“It’ll be great. Get back, sleep in our own beds, play in front of our home fans. …” Reaves said. “It was a good trip. We had some really good wins, we had a couple tough losses. It’s all learning experiences, getting back healthy. It will be good to play in front of our crowd and get back home.”
Austin Reaves Was Frustrated, ‘Bored’
Reaves said that the time away from the Lakers rehabbing was not something he enjoyed. There had been consistent speculation that he would come back sooner than the road trip finale, but in the end, the goal was to make sure he was 100%.
“Just trying to do the right things every day. It was even, it was frustrating,” Reaves said in his on-court postgame interview. “Just trusting the process of what you’re doing because one day you might feel good and the next day, you might not. Wish I was back a little sooner. It’s good to be back, it’s miserable when you’re not playing. I am pretty bored.”
Back at his locker, he noted that he took his frustrations out on the referees while on the bench, but it’s not as satisfying as doing it in uniform.
“Sitting on the bench sucks,” he said. “I think all I did for the month-and-a-half [he was out] was yell at the refs. It’s no fun. It’s better to yell at them on the court. But it’s good to be back out there and run around, feel the energy and play the game I love.”
Lakers Offense Hurt During Absence
No doubt, the Lakers offense missed Reaves. L.A. was No. 7 in the NBA in offensive rating when he got injured, at 117.8, but that number dipped to 115.3 (11th) without him. Of course, the Lakers’ defensive rating also improved, from 118.6 (24th) to 115.9 (19th).
It was only the Nets, of course, but the Lakers had a 69-40 lead at halftime and forced 20 turnovers in the game on Tuesday.
“I thought we played good basketball, we were defending at a high level,” Reaves said. “I think they had 40 points nit he first half, if we can continue to do that on a nightly basis, our offense is going to give us opportunities to win a lot of games.”
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