The recovery time for a grade 2 oblique strain is usually 4-6 weeks, so Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is expected to be out of action until at least the first week of May.
However, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst dropped a bombshell on Tuesday morning, suggesting that Reaves could return for the latter part of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, which begins on Saturday.
“There are potential Laker playoff opponents who felt that there was a better chance — based on their analysis of the situation — that Austin Reaves could play sooner rather than later,” Windhorst told the “Hoop Collective” podcast.
“And that, as this team was preparing to potentially see the Lakers, that they were preparing for Austin Reaves potentially to play in that first-round series at some point.”
Lakers Wait For AR, Luka Doncic
Windhorst was referring to his conversations with a few Western Conference teams preparing for a first-round playoff matchup against the Lakers after Reaves and Luka Doncic (grade 2 hamstring strain) both went down with injuries on April 2.
From those talks, Windy gathered that Reaves had a chance of returning quicker than his superstar backcourt partner.
Austin Reaves Injury Update
ESPN’s Shams Charania, though, on Monday reported that the Lakers were operating under the assumption that Reaves would not return for the series vs. the Rockets.
“Austin Reaves, he’s out for the majority of the first round series,” Charania told “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday.
“Most likely, the earliest [return timeline] for him is going to be the first week of May.”
The second round of the playoffs is expected to start around May 3-4.
As for Doncic, the Slovenian star will reportedly return to Los Angeles on Friday after spending the past week getting alternative treatment in Madrid, Spain. A source close to Doncic remains “optimistic” that the Lakers star could potentially return for Game 3, 4 or 5 against the Rockets — provided JJ Redick’s team can extend the series.
“It will be 11 days since the injury tonight,” Ekipa’s Andrej Miljkovic wrote on Monday, referencing that Doncic sustained a grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2.
“The infamous 35 [day recovery timeline] means that he would definitely miss the entire first round of the playoffs, and in that case, it is really hard to imagine the Lakers eliminating Houston.
“Those who are more optimistic, however, assume that LA can pull off a victory and that Luka can return for the third, fourth, or at the latest the fifth game.”
Over the past week or so, Doncic received several cell-based therapies on his injured hamstring from Javier Barrio, a sports doctor at his former club, Real Madrid. As for Reaves, the fifth-year guard has been on the bench cheering his Lakers teammates.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers Get Shocking New Austin Reaves Update Before Playoffs appeared first on Heavy Sports.