For Los Angeles Lakers fans praying for a Luka Doncic/Austin Reaves return in round one of the playoffs, Tuesday afternoon brought some good news and some bad news. Let's get the bad news out of the way first: Doncic is "out indefinitely" and not expected to appear at all in this series, according to ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania.
Now onto the good. Reaves still has a chance to play in round one. Charania reported that AR is back to doing 1-on-1 workouts and could soon progress to 3-on-3, followed by 5-on-5 work, the required build-up to getting back into games for the Lakers.
Lakers' Luka Doncic is out indefinitely as Austin Reaves makes progress
"The sense around the Lakers is that Austin Reaves is actually the one (who's) further along than Luka Doncic in their respective rehab processes," Charania said. "I am told Austin Reaves has started 1-on-1 on-court work. ... The Lakers are not expecting Luka Doncic to be back in this series. He is out indefinitely."
The possibility of a Reaves return in round one creates a complicated mental situation for the Houston Rockets. While Ime Udoka and his staff continue to game plan for a Lakers team that doesn't feature Reaves, they'll have to throw a lot of that out the window if and when Reaves enters this series at any point.
Reaves has both the scoring and playmaking chops to single-handedly sway a playoff game (and series), which is what makes his unknown return date so annoying in the back of Udoka's strategic mind. Reaves had plenty of huge scoring outputs this season, including a 51-point game, two 40-plus scoring games, and nine 30-plus scoring games. He also tallied 10-plus assists on four different occasions.
As the Rockets await the return of their own big-time scorer, Kevin Durant, Houston has to be wondering how they'll need to adjust on the fly if and when Reaves re-enters the lineup.
Lakers confidence isn't impacted by Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic news
The Lakers, meanwhile, aren't confused or distracted by Reaves' progress. LA decided at the outset of this series to operate as if neither Reaves nor Doncic would be available at all. The Lakers did this for both psychological and basketball reasons. Armed with a mindset that they can beat the Rockets without Reaves and Doncic, the addition of either player would now be seen as an unnecessary (though welcome) twist.
A confident Lakers group led by JJ Redick and LeBron James might even view Reaves' possible return in round one primarily as a way for Austin to start establishing rhythm for round two. That sentiment would certainly grow in strength with a Game 2 victory on Tuesday night.
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