There it is! We have word on the latest with Austin Reaves' heel injury. If JJ Redick is being transparent and not cloaking the severity of his star guard's ailment, the Los Angeles Lakers have dodged a major bullet after Reaves' early exit against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Redick said: "He has a bruise on his heel. We as a group collectively decided it [imaging] wasn't necessary. I would assume a day-to-day injury."
Day-to-day is a generous and optimistic designation considering where this situation was after it had just happened. Luka Doncic was talking about the Lakers needing a next-man-up mentality. That may still prove to be true. It may just only be necessary for a game or two, instead of anything significantly more.
Lakers got close to the best-case scenario if JJ Redick is right
Let us take Redick's words at face value for a second here, even though he is not a doctor. If the day-to-day designation is from the date of the original injury, that should only involve Reaves missing one or two games. If it is from today, that number climbs up to three.
The idea there is day-to-day implies it would not require a week. It is a quite literal interpretation for the sake of it.
In any case, It sounds like Reaves will not be missing a chunk of the season. It will simply be a footnote, at best. Considering how well the Lakers have been playing to start the year, it is great news to know that a major driving force of that success will not be absent for too long.
Lakers have the depth to ensure a comfortable return timeline for Austin Reaves
Even if Redick is off on his read of the situation, the Lakers have the bodies to fill in for Reaves. There should be no reason to rush him back.
Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton are capable of answering Doncic's call for next man up. Cameron Carr can help fill the back end of the rotation. The Lakers are fine.
Call it a broken record player or whatever you will, but Reaves' long-term health takes priority. A handful of win-loss results in November are not going to change how true that is. It even makes it all the easier to justify when looking at the low quality of upcoming teams on the schedule.
Give Reaves his time to rest and make sure this does not become a lingering issue. That should be the Lakers' motto with how they handle the injury moving forward.
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