On Tuesday, the Dallas Mavericks disputed Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s claim that their medical team misdiagnosed Austin Reaves’ injury after the star guard underwent an MRI for an oblique strain.
“Our medical team followed standard imaging protocols based on the information provided at the time,” the Mavericks said in a statement, via ESPN.
“There was no error in the scan performed.”
In the lead-up to the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, Redick addressed the controversy while offering an update on Reaves.
“In the end, we got the image we needed,” Redick said.
“And obviously very appreciative, because it’s happened throughout the season whenever the home team is accommodating to us, just like we would be for them. And we’re going to move on.”
Austin Reaves Injury Update
Earlier, Redick claimed that the Mavericks scanned the “wrong area” of Reaves’ body.
“I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” Redick said. “So [the mistake was] not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned, but they scanned the wrong area.”
Ultimately, Reaves needed two MRIs to diagnose a grade 2 oblique strain, which sidelined him for four to six weeks and put his playoff status in jeopardy.
Lakers Lose Again
The Lakers suffered their third consecutive loss on Tuesday, as Redick’s men were blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-87. With Luka Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James all sidelined, the Lakers were forced to start a first-time starting unit of Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, Drew Timme, Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton.
However, amid the sea of injuries, Redick is focused on finding lineups and rotations that they can use in the upcoming playoffs.
“You obviously have to tackle the situation in front of you,” he said, via LakersNation.
“We have a unique situation in front of us, and we gotta prepare our team, our group that we have available, to play in a playoff series. That’s how we approach the next four games, how we approach next week leading into Game 1.
“As I said, it’s finding who’s gonna be able to play in the playoffs for us. That all goes into it. The seeding part probably went out the window after the OKC game.”
The Lakers (50-29) will next face the Golden State Warriors (37-42) on Thursday night. Another loss would mean the Lakers slip below the Houston Rockets (50-29) as the fifth seed in the West, meaning they won’t have home-court advantage in the playoffs.
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