Austin Reaves Injured, What is Lakers Star's Status After Exiting vs. Rockets?
Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves is set to undergo an MRI on his left calf after exiting Thursday's Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets with an injury, per The Athletic's Dan Woike.
The news comes after Reaves was ruled out of the team's matchup with the Rockets due to left calf soreness, per NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Reaves was on the floor for 15 minutes against Houston in the first half, but didn't play after halftime.
He previously missed three games because of a left calf strain before returning for Los Angeles' 132-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Reaves didn't appear to be bothered by the calf issue too much during the defeat against the Suns, scoring 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting in just under 22 minutes of action.
"I was pretty tired the first couple of minutes but after that it felt good," Reaves told reporters after the game (h/t Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation).
The 27-year-old was also sidelined for three games earlier in the season due to a groin injury.
Reaves hasn't been bothered by health issues as of late, appearing in 155 of a possible 164 regular-season contests over the prior two years.
The Lakers will hope that his latest calf injury isn't too serious, as he's in the midst of a breakout 2025-26 campaign.
Reaves averaged a career-high 27.3 points, 6.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game heading into Thursday's clash while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from behind the arc.
Marcus Smart replaced Reaves in Los Angeles' starting lineup during the second half against Houston and should continue to start if he's forced to miss time.
