NEW YORK — Austin Reaves, who missed the last 19 games because of a left calf strain, will play for the Lakers on Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves will come off the bench and will have a minutes restrictions.
“Yeah, he’ll be in,” Redick said. “He’ll have a minutes restriction, but he’ll be in.”
Reaves has been out since injuring his calf on Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets.
In 23 games this season, Reaves is averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2). Reaves is shooting 50.7% from the field and 36.5% from three-point range.
“I think we’ve missed him in every facet,” Redick said of Reaves. “Both as an on-ball player, off-ball player, a connector, leadership on the court, competitive spirit — competitive spirit defensively. So, he’s an All-Star level player and, of course, you’re going to miss him in a number of ways.”
The most recent Lakers starting lineup had Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart as starters alongside Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Deandre Ayton.
Redick was asked how the group has fared together.
“Yeah, I mean, that group has not performed well from a net rating, an offensive/defensive rating,” Redick said. “So, we’ve got to figure all this out. And we’ve had two games all season with our full health.
“So, hopefully, with Austin coming back, we can just have a healthy stretch here and figure out what lineups work best.”
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