Jj Redick Gets Austin Reaves Back for Game 5 Against Rockets
jj redick gets Austin Reaves back for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, with the Lakers guard cleared to play Wednesday evening after missing nine games because of a Grade 2 oblique strain. He returns one day shy of four weeks after going out, giving Los Angeles another usable perimeter option in a playoff series it enters after a 19-point loss in Game 4.
Austin Reaves Returns Wednesday
Reaves was officially listed as questionable before being cleared, and he will come off the bench in Game 5. The Lakers announced an unchanged starting lineup of LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, so the first group stays intact even with Reaves available again.
That is the sharp change for Los Angeles: a rotation that had gone without him since April 2 now gets him back at a point when the series has already tightened. Reaves had tried to play in both Games 3 and 4, but the injury kept him out until Wednesday night.
Reaves Missed Nine Games
The absence lasted nearly four weeks and came with a longer return window attached. Reaves had previously been given a 4-6 week timetable to return, and his comeback arrives on the early side of that range. He told reporters Tuesday he was “optimistic” about playing, and that optimism turned into availability by game day.
The timing matters because the Lakers are coming off their first loss of the playoffs, a 19-point defeat in Game 4. Reaves does not replace the starting five, but he gives Jj Redick another ball-handler and scoring option to use in a game that can swing the series back toward Los Angeles.
Dončić Still Sidelined
The Lakers still have one major name out. Luka Dončić has also been out since April 2 with a Grade 2 hamstring, and he is not expected to return at all this series. That leaves Reaves as the key reinforcement in a group that now has to absorb Game 4’s margin and try to handle the Rockets without another backcourt return on the way.
For Los Angeles, the immediate change is simple: Reaves is available, the bench gets a boost, and the matchup now asks Houston to account for one more creator after four games without him. The Lakers can use that without changing their opening five, which is exactly where Wednesday’s roster news lands.
