Austin Reaves Returns! Lakers Star Ready for Game 5 Showdown vs. Rockets

After being sidelined for nearly four weeks because of an oblique injury, Lakers star guard Austin Reaves made his long-awaited return to the court in Game 5 against the Rockets. The Lakers upgraded Reaves from questionable to available 45 minutes before tipoff on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena, making Reaves eligible to make his playoffs debut after missing the first four games of the best-of-seven first round playoff series. Reaves was sidelined for 27 days because of the Grade 2 left oblique strain he suffered during the April 2 loss to the Thunder, returning earlier than the 4-6 week recovery timeline that typically comes with the injury. He was listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 3 win and Sunday’s Game 4 loss before being downgraded to out for both games. During his first media availability since suffering on Tuesday, Reaves responded, “just how my body feels,” when asked what would determine whether he played on Wednesday. Clearly, it feels good enough. The Lakers have been without Reaves and fellow star guard Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) since both suffered regular season-ending injuries on April 2. He and Doncic missed the final five games of the regular season with their respective injuries, with the Lakers going 3-2 in those games. “I’ve been pretty miserable,” Reaves said on Tuesday. “Just not having somewhat of a control on a game, just sitting over there with…no hope that I can affect the game. Obviously I can talk and try to lead from