Los Angeles will not be without their breakout star for too long…

Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets | Matthew Stockman/GettyImages

Los Angeles Lakers fans held their breath when they saw Austin Reaves leave early from Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. There can be a sigh of relief had with the latest news on his injury update.

Reaves is enjoying a breakout campaign in his fourth season as a pro. The talented offensive guard is averaging 19.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game, while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from 3-point land.

His presence would have been sorely missed by the Lakers, if Reaves had to endure an extended road back from injury. Late on Saturday night, Shams Charania reassured everyone that should not be the case.

Reaves expected to be day-to-day

Charania posted an update on Twitter/X regarding the Reaves injury. The NBA insider revealed that the Lakers guard will be day-to-day after an MRI on his right calf did not raise any cause for major concern. Charania added that Reaves’ status for Sunday night’s rematch against the Clippers is unclear.

This feels pretty close to the best case scenario for the Lakers. If Reaves is only forced to miss a couple of games from his injury, Los Angeles should consider themselves lucky.

The Lakers have enjoyed a strong wave of momentum, riding a five-game winning streak, and winning 17 of their last 21 games overall. Reaves has been a big part of that strong play.

During that same 21-game stretch, the former Oklahoma guard has really hit his stride. Reaves has averaged 20.6 points per game, scoring at least 20 points in 11 of those contests. That span included a career-high 45 points against the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 8.

With Luka Doncic still getting acclimated to the Lakers, Reaves has stepped up offensively over and over, when the situation has called for it. Being without that reliable fallback option for an extended period of time could have significantly impacted the Lakers’ pursuit of the second seed in the Western Conference.