Is Austin Reaves playing in Game 2 tonight vs. Rockets? Final status for Lakers star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without their star guard, Austin Reaves, for the seventh consecutive game.
Reaves is ruled out for Game 2 of the first-round series against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday due to left oblique muscle strain.
Lakers’ injury report for Game 2 vs. Houston: pic.twitter.com/9pGZHFpChr
The 27-year-old has missed the last six games with the injury and will remain sidelined as expected. While that is the case, there is expected to be an update on Reaves in the coming days.
Reaves was spotted at the Lakers' practice facility on Monday. He was seen shooting free throws along with Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are at the Lakers' practice facility, joining Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt while they shoot free throws pic.twitter.com/jMmK4MgUSD
This week will be the three-week mark since Reaves suffered his oblique injury. The former undrafted guard suffered the injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2, early in the contest. He was seen wincing throughout the first half and even exited the contest in the second quarter.
Still, he remained in the contest, although he was grabbing at the left side of his lower back. The final time Reaves was on the floor, he recorded 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, four rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes of action in the blowout loss.
The Lakers failed to capture the No. 3 seed without Reaves and Luka Doncic in the regular season. Nonetheless, they earned the No. 4 seed and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Los Angeles will now look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Rockets. The Lakers put up an impressive outing in Game 1. All five starters scored over double figures, and they held Houston to 98 points in the contest.
The Lakers' defense was incredible, holding the Rockets to 36 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent shooting from beyond the arc despite losing the rebound battle.
The Rockets are expected to come out with fury to avoid a 0-2 hole, while the Lakers will do all they can to head to Houston for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 lead.
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