Austin Reaves Skips Heel Scans, Listed Day-to-day as Lakers Fans Worry

WHO:

ESPN - Austin Reaves is a Los Angeles Lakers guard and shooting guard.

ESPN - Lakers coach JJ Redick provided injury updates about Reaves, Luka Doncic, Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes.

ESPN - Collin Sexton is a backup guard; Ryan Rollins is a Milwaukee Bucks guard.

ESPN - Ziaire Williams is a Lakers forward.

Sportskeeda - Lakers fans raised concerns after Reaves and the Lakers skipped further imaging for his bruised heel.

Sportskeeda - Luka Doncic and Reaves both suffered leg injuries during their matchup against the Bucks.

WHAT:

ESPN - Reaves was listed day-to-day with a bruise on his left heel.

ESPN - Reaves left the Lakers’ 123-112 win over the Bucks midway through the third quarter and did not return after landing awkwardly on his left foot while missing a contested fast-break dunk.

ESPN - X-rays taken at the arena came back clean. The Lakers decided further imaging, including an MRI, was unnecessary.

ESPN - Asked whether the injury was minor, Redick said, “I would assume a day-to-day injury is minor, yeah.”

ESPN - Redick said Doncic “is fine” after turning his right ankle and expected him to be available for the Lakers’ next game against the Phoenix Suns.

ESPN - Sexton needed stitches above his right eye after accidentally head-butting Rollins. He had no concussion symptoms and was day-to-day.

ESPN - Grimes, who sprained the right pinkie on his shooting hand and missed the Lakers’ previous two games, took part in live practice. He said, “The swelling has gone down a lot,” and his finger was “basically back to normal.”

ESPN - The Lakers were 11-2 and held the NBA’s No. 1 record. Redick used a 21-page analytics presentation and a film session to review the team’s offensive and defensive identities. Williams said there were “a lot of good things and a lot of things to clean up.”

Sportskeeda - The article reported that fans questioned the decision to skip further scans; quoted reactions included “Are they running out of money?” and “We are being lied to.”

WHERE:

ESPN - The Lakers’ practice took place in El Segundo, California.

ESPN - Reaves was injured during the Lakers’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

WHEN:

ESPN - Reaves left the game on Wednesday; the Lakers took X-rays that evening, assessed him after returning to Los Angeles the following morning, and Redick gave the update after Friday practice.

ESPN - The Lakers’ next game was against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Sportskeeda - The article said Doncic and Reaves were injured during their matchup against the Bucks on Nov. 11.

WHY:

ESPN - Reaves’ injury occurred when he landed awkwardly on his left foot after missing a contested fast-break dunk.

ESPN - Sexton’s cut resulted from an unintentional head-butt with Rollins.

HOW:

ESPN - The Lakers determined that additional foot imaging was not needed after considering Reaves’ condition the morning after the game and receiving clean X-ray results.

ESPN - Redick said he used the team’s schedule break to “audit” the Lakers, drawing on an analytics department presentation and film session.

Austin Reaves is day-to-day with a bruised heel after landing awkwardly against Milwaukee. The Lakers’ X-rays were clear, and the team decided further scans weren’t necessary. Luka Doncic is fine, while Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes are also recovering.