Austin Reaves expects to play against Wizards after banging knees vs. Clippers

It appears the Lakers avoided adding injury to insult on Sunday as Austin Reaves says he expects to play against the Wizards on Tuesday after banging knees at the end of the Clippers game.

After a bit of a scare on Sunday night in a loss to the Clippers, it looks like the Lakers survived any kind of serious injury for Austin Reaves.

Late in the fourth quarter of a game they were trailing by double digits, Reaves limped to the bench after landing awkwardly while going after a loose ball. After the contest, head coach JJ Redick confirmed Reaves banged knees on that sequence.

To further quell any concerns, Reaves also confirmed he banged knees but that he would be good to play on Tuesday against the Wizards.

It goes without saying that the Lakers can not afford to be without Reaves for any length of time. Since trading D’Angelo Russell, Reaves has become even more important to the team as the lead ball-handler.

He’s excelled in that role as he’s played some of the best basketball of his career. He recently drew the praise of LeBron for his career night against the Nets. Heading into Sunday’s game, Reaves was averaging 22.2 points and 8.9 assists per game over the last 10 games.

The Lakers need him to be the head of the offense, so losing him would be a massive blow. While the team will not know Reaves’ status until closer to game time, his optimism is encouraging.

There is still a possibility of a bone bruise developing, but if he’s feeling good enough right now to say he’s going to play, his knee has to feel fairly decent right now. For now, keep fingers crossed he is, in fact, fully healthy.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.