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Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles during pregame warmup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Austin Reaves has been off to the side waiting patiently as his Los Angeles Lakers have been busy winning playoff games.
The Lakers are rolling. Check that. They are absolutely cruising — kind of like a late-night drive with no traffic, no noise, just open road and no reason to hit the brakes.
L.A. is currently up 2-0 on the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The series now, however, is changing cities as it is now the Lakers’ turn to be the road team.
Can they continue riding in the driver’s seat? They surely have a chance. Especially if they get their second-best scorer back in the lineup.
Lakers fans, buckle up, some much-awaited news may finally be here.
You read that right.
Reaves, 27, incurred a Grade 2 oblique strain just 22 days ago. While the team didn’t announce an estimated return timeline — head coach JJ Redick said multiple times Reaves, and Luka Doncic, would be out “indefinitely” — several credible sources floated a 4-6 week window.
Reaves is just at the start of the third week, so either the timeline those sources gave was off or Reaves’ injury was less severe than previously understood.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 12: Marcus Smart #36, Austin Reaves #15 and Luke Kennard #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers watch from the bench during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena on April 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
The Lakers are up 2-0, so it’s not like they are absolutely desperate to regain the services of Doncic or Reaves. They’d still want their stars back sooner than later to get some time to reingratiate them before a tougher series ahead.
It seems help is here at last.
In a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, a show featuring ESPN senior writers Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst, Bontemps said he expects Reaves to return from injury in tonight’s Game 3 in Houston.
“Austin Reaves is gonna play Friday barring some kind of setback,” Bontemps said.
Interjected MacMahon: “Once they’re upgraded to questionable and they’ve been ramping up, it’s pretty rare to see a guy not be able to go, unless there’s some sort of road block right at the end.”
If Reaves returns tonight, that spells major trouble for the already troubled Rockets.
Reaves began his return-to-play process early this week in Lakers practice. Videos surfaced showing Reaves engaging in practice activities and working with trainers. It was the first sign Reaves’ return was around the corner. Now he could return to action as soon as tonight.
The Lakers will likely see a Houston team playing with desperation tonight. The Rockets know if they lose tonight, their season is effectively over. No team in NBA history has overcome an 0-3 deficit. Only four teams have even forced a Game 7 after trailing by three games.
The Rockets are still dealing with injury concerns over Kevin Durant, who was listed on the injury report with an ankle sprain — not for the knee issue he encountered before Game 1 last week.
It’ll be interesting to see if Reaves indeed suits up tonight and to what capacity the Lakers play him.
Adel Ahmad Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad
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