The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have some clarity with one of their injured stars, but not Luka Dončić.
Austin Reaves, currently recovering from a Grade 2 oblique strain, recently began 1-on-1 on-court work and is theoretically on track for a return either later in the Lakers’ first-round series or early in the Western Conference semifinals, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Reaves still reportedly has to progress through 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 work before making a return, but he’s ahead of Dončić, who remains out indefinitely with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and is not expected to play in the first round.
That update came a day after Reaves and Dončić were both seen on the practice court, but not doing any intense work.
The Lakers entered Tuesday with a 1-0 lead over the Houston Rockets after their win in Game 1.
The Rockets were strongly favored going into the series due to the absences of the Lakers’ two leading scorers, but Houston surprisingly found itself without its own leading scorer when Kevin Durant was ruled out with a knee contusion.
The result of that was a completely out-of-sync offense for the Rockets in Game 1, while LeBron James and Luke Kennard led the short-handed Lakers to a surprise victory.
Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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