The Los Angeles Lakers visit Phoenix on Sunday still waiting for official word from the further imaging Austin Reaves was scheduled to undergo Thursday, and with Quentin Grimes’ status unconfirmed as well. Tip is at 1 p.m. PST at Mortgage Matchup Center, the fourth and final stop of the road trip, on Spectrum Sports Net and Suns Live. The official Friday NBA injury report covers Friday’s games and does not include Sunday’s matchup, which had not been submitted as of this writing. Later Friday editions of that report were not posted.
What is confirmed about Reaves has not changed since Wednesday night in Milwaukee. He left the Lakers’ 123-112 win over the Bucks with a left heel injury and did not return, the Los Angeles Times reported. Coach JJ Redick said initial X-rays taken at the arena were negative and that early tests had ruled out an Achilles injury. He also said there would be no further update until imaging Thursday, after the team returned to Los Angeles. Dave McMenamin of ESPN described Reaves landing awkwardly after a missed fast-break dunk with 8:21 left in the third quarter, then substituting himself out at the 5:20 mark and leaving with medical staff. Reaves scored 18 points in 25:07 on 6-for-10 shooting, with five assists, three rebounds and three steals, per the official box score.
As of Friday morning, the Lakers had not released the results of that further imaging, and no official Sunday designation for Reaves has been posted. Some unofficial previews have listed him as a game-time decision and have discussed possible replacements if he cannot play. Those designations are not official. An NBA.com game story also referred to the issue in one line as an ankle injury while describing a left heel problem in the body of the same report. The official and Times accounts, and Redick’s comments, all describe the left heel.
Grimes remains a separate, still-open question. He was official inactive Wednesday with a right finger sprain. Redick, speaking after the walkthrough and shootaround, said Grimes had gone through those sessions but had swelling on his shooting hand and that the staff wanted him to feel comfortable shooting the basketball, HoopsHype and the Orange County Register reported via the same comments. Whether that swelling has receded enough for Sunday is unconfirmed. ESPN’s unofficial injury listing for the Phoenix game had Grimes as day-to-day with a finger issue. That is not a substitute for an official report, which had not been filed for Sunday as of Friday morning.
Two other Wednesday issues also have to stay in the unconfirmed column for Phoenix. Luka Doncic turned his right ankle at 4:25 of the fourth quarter on a foul by Kyle Kuzma and later said he was good, that it was obviously a little painful, and that he would be fine. Redick said he thought Doncic was fine. Collin Sexton needed stitches above his right eye after a collision with Ryan Rollins at 6:51 of the fourth and still finished with 10 points in 13:21. ESPN’s unofficial listing had both Doncic (right ankle) and Sexton (head) as day-to-day for Sunday. Neither player has an official Sunday designation yet. Our Thursday report on the heel injury covered those comments in more detail; this update is about what has, and has not, been released since then.
The Lakers enter the game 11-2, still alone in first in the league, with a seven-game winning streak and a 6-1 road record, per ESPN standings after Thursday’s slate. The Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs are next at 10-2. The Suns are 5-6 after a 101-96 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday at Mortgage Matchup Center and are 5-3 at home, with a two-game winning streak. ESPN lists Phoenix center Mark Williams as out with a left shoulder surgery, but that is unofficial for Sunday. Williams was out with a left shoulder issue on the official report for Thursday’s game against Charlotte. That listing does not automatically carry to Sunday, and the official report for Lakers at Suns had not been submitted.
No official Lakers practice report or availability session from Friday morning had been published at this writing either. Redick’s Wednesday comment remains the last official word on the imaging timeline. What is not in dispute is the official Milwaukee line and the official team record.
The Lakers have already shown they can close a game with Reaves out. He played only 25:07 on Wednesday and was off the floor for the fourth quarter of a win that also featured Luka Doncic’s 32 points in 32:20 and Sandro Mamukelashvili’s 23, as detailed in the official recap linked above. That is not evidence that the same rotation can be repeated in Phoenix, and it is not a confirmed Sunday plan. It is only the most recent official sample of this group playing without him. Grimes’ shooting hand matters in that same sample, because he was already out Wednesday and has not been officially cleared to return. A visitor that is 11-2 can still be shorthanded in the backcourt if both are unavailable. That remains an if.
Sunday is still a road game, even after the Lakers fly back through Los Angeles for the mid-trip break that was supposed to include Reaves’ imaging. A Times reference to finishing the trip and returning home after Milwaukee does not match the schedule. Phoenix is the last stop, then the Lakers come back for a homestand. How they close the trip depends on information that is still missing. If Reaves cannot go, the Lakers would be asking a group that just won in Milwaukee without him for stretches of the second half, and without Grimes for the full night, to do it again against a Suns team that just won at home. That is a projection, not a confirmed lineup.
The official Lakers channel posted a film-room breakdown this week with Reaves walking through ball-handling, a reminder of what the staff is trying to preserve while it waits on the heel. Nothing in that clip, or in Friday’s official injury report, clears or rules him out for 1 p.m. PST on Sunday. The honest status is narrower than the unofficial preview lists: initial X-rays were negative, an Achilles injury was ruled out, further imaging was scheduled for Thursday, and the results have not been released. Grimes’ finger swelling has not been updated officially since Wednesday. Doncic’s ankle and Sexton’s stitches have only the players’ and coach’s Wednesday comments behind them.
Until the Lakers or the official injury report say more, Sunday’s visiting rotation should be treated as unconfirmed. The team still owns the league’s best record at 11-2, ahead of Boston and San Antonio at 10-2, and still visits a Suns club that is 5-6 and coming off a home win. Broadcasts are Spectrum Sports Net and Spectrum Sports Net+ on the visiting side and Arizona’s Family 3TV plus Suns Live at home, per ESPN’s listing. The imaging results, Grimes’ finger, and any official Sunday tags will have to come from the Lakers or from a later official report that has not been filed.
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