‘The scouting report against us is we’re not guarding people,’ guard Marcus Smart says as the team adjusts to losing high-scoring Austin Reaves for a week.
The Lakers’ Friday morning meeting heightened their attention to the team’s defensive struggles. And their Friday afternoon news was an example of why they need to have urgency when it comes to finding solutions.
With the team announcing that star guard Austin Reaves will be sidelined for at least the next two games because of a left calf strain, the Lakers will be without the player coach JJ Redick said had “carried” the team for the previous six weeks.
Redick confirmed after Saturday’s practice that Reaves’ injury is a “mild, Grade 1” strain, and that the 27-year-old guard is expected to be sidelined for a week.
“We lose one of our better players, and one of our offensive threats … it’s gonna call for everybody to pick up their game on both ends of the court to make up what we’re losing with him,” Marcus Smart said. “So it’s definitely tough.”
Reaves is averaging career-highs in points (27.8), assists (6.7) and rebounds (5.6), playing in 21 of the Lakers’ 24 games, with the team getting off to a 17-7 start.
