The Los Angeles Lakers opened Wednesday with an unfortunate update, listing Austin Reaves — the team’s primary ball-handler and playmaker alongside Luka Doncic — as questionable for their matchup against the San Antonio Spurs due to right groin soreness.
Meanwhile, veteran guard Gave Vincent remains out after a left-ankle sprain that carries a 2-4 week recovery window.
Also listed on the Lakers’ injury report was LeBron James (sciatica), Maxi Kleber (abdominal strain), and Adou Thiero (knee), all of whom remain sidelined.
However, with Reaves playing 37.9 minutes a night as the team’s leading scorer (31.1 points per game), his absence would be seismic.
Still, it could open the door for second-year guard Bronny James to see an expanded role — and maybe even deliver a breakout performance.
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Reaves is producing at an elite rate this season, ranking fourth in the NBA in both points and assists (9.3) per game with a 29.5% usage rate — 18th in the league among players averaging at least 20 minutes.
As both the Lakers’ primary scorer and creator, his potential to miss any time would be a major schematic shift for coach JJ Redick.
On the flip side, those minutes will have to go somewhere if L.A. hopes to keep pace with the 5-1 Spurs, and James looks like the most likely to benefit.
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James was selected in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the 2024 NBA Draft and spent his rookie season balancing time between L.A. and its G League affiliate, South Bay Lakers.
In 27 regular-season NBA games last season, he averaged 2.3 points, 0.8 assists, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.3 steals in 6.7 minutes per game; in 11 G-League games, he averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 34.2 minutes per game.
This season, he’s already seen his minutes increase (13.0 per game across five appearances), including as recently as Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, when he finished with five points and six assists in 19 minutes en route to a 123-115 Lakers win.
With Vincent sidelined and Marcus Smart and Dalton Knecht as the only other backups, James represents the most intriguing internal option to pick up primary ball-handling minutes behind Reaves (should he miss).
