Luka Doncic improved his injury report for the NBA Cup opener
The The Los Angeles Lakers stayed afloat in the absence of injury from Luka Dončić and LeBron James thanks in no small part the heroics of Austin Reeveswhich followed Wednesday night’s 40-plus point games with a buzzer beater win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Reaves has been playing the best basketball of his career over the past week, but fans are still understandably concerned about when Doncic and James will return to the lineup.
While James is expected to be out for some time, Doncic has recently received positive update on the Lakers’ latest injury report ahead of Friday night’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“The Lakers have upgraded Luka Doncic to questionable for tomorrow’s NBA Cup game,” ClutchPoints NBA Insider Brett Siegel reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Dončić struggled with a sprained finger on the left side and a contusion on the lower leg of his left leg, which caused him to be excluded from the lineup. Meanwhile, Doncic was joined on the injury report by Marcus Smart, who has missed the last two games but is also listed as questionable for Friday with a right quad contusion. LeBron James, Maxi Kleber, Gabe Vincent and Aduo Tiero will remain out of the lineup.
A turnaround for the Lakers
While the Los Angeles Lakers already knew Austin Reaves was capable of putting up All-Star-level results when he was given the first option role, few could have predicted the explosive output he produced in the absence of Doncic and James.
Reaves dropped 51 points against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night before giving the Portland Trail Blazers 41 the next night, then had 28 points, 16 assists and a game-winner against the Timberwolves on Wednesday.
This has opened up questions about whether Reaves will see an expanded role once James and Doncic are healthy, and how he will handle returning to the ball game after experiencing so much success with it over the past three games.
Either way, the Lakers and Grizzlies will square off on Friday at 9:30 PM ET.
2025-10-30 22:38:00
