Lakers Starter A Shocking Late Scratch for Preseason Matchup with Bucks

Los Angeles will be without one of its best scorers.

May 12, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) and guard Austin Reaves (15) celebrate after winning game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without one of their best scorers for the third game of the 2024-25 preseason.

Shockingly, starting Lakers shooting guard Austin Reaves will sit out L.A.'s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

Per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, the 6-foot-5 Oklahoma product is suffering from a sore ankle. First-year Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick indicated that he is being rested for a game, an approach that suggests the ailment may not be particularly worrisome.

Redick revealed that All-NBA superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are slated to suit up for the second straight game, after both sat out L.A.'s preseason opener, a 124-107 Friday loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Palm Desert.

Trudell reports that Lakers guards Gabe Vincent and Max Christie will be on a limit, as will small forward Cam Reddish, Trudell adds.

The Lakers have announced on their official X account that the team will elevate 3-and-D shooting guard Max Christie, re-signed this summer on a four-year, $32 million contract, to replace Reaves in the team's starting lineup. Christie will join typical expected starters D'Angelo Russell, James, Rui Hachimura, and Davis as Los Angeles' first five.

Combo forward Jarred Vanderbilt, power forward/center Christian Wood, and center Christian Koloko were all already announced as being sidelined. Vanderbilt and Koloko hope to be healthy in time for the start of the Lakers' regular season, while Wood is slated to be ready by early November.

According to the Milwaukee Bucks' official X account, the team will be starting All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, shooting guard Gary Trent Jr., ex-Los Angeles small forward Taurean Prince (replacing typical starter Khris Middleton, who's still on the mend from offseason surgeries on both his feet), All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and All-Defensive Team center Brook Lopez.

Reaves, in the second season of a lucrative four-year, $53.8 million contract he inked in restricted free agency with the team last summer, has emerged as clearly the Lakers' third-best player. The fourth-year swingman averaged career highs of 15.9 points on .486/.367/.853 shooting splits, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals a night last year. Then-head coach Darvin Ham kept unsurely toggling his lineups throughout the season, so Reaves was often moved around from the bench to a starting gig, and only wound up starting 57 of his 82 contests.

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