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The Houston Rockets spoiled the Los Angeles Lakers' Christmas -- and perhaps much more than that.
Lakers star Austin Reaves suffered an apparent left calf injury in the first half of the Lakers' 119-96 home loss to the Rockets on Thursday. He is poised to undergo an MRI on Friday, and he could be in line to miss several games -- just as Los Angeles' issues begin to mount.
Lakers coach JJ Redick shredded his team following their 23-point holiday loss, perhaps because he knows that losing Reaves is a huge blow to an already-fragile group.
Though the Lakers still sit fourth in the Western Conference with a 19-10 record, LA is closer to the #9 seed and the Play-in Tournament than they are to the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder.
Overall, the Lakers have a bottom-five defense and a minus-0.5 net rating, below league-average. Their star trio of Reaves, Luka Doncic and LeBron James continues to get carved up; when all three have been on the floor together, the Lakers give up 121.7 points per 100 possessions and have a ghastly minus-7.1 net rating.
https://t.co/oklSSApZCI pic.twitter.com/P2QP3zYhnE
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 26, 2025According to Databallr's lineup data, Lakers lineups with Doncic and James but no Reaves are doing even worse. The net rating of those lineups is even worse at minus-8.3, with a 129.6 defensive rating.
Lineups with Doncic only (plus-1.9 net rating) or James only (plus-10.5) have done better, and they offer a path forward for Redick if Reaves misses time.
But all is not right in Lakerland, as Redick's post-game presser on Thursday laid bare. The Lakers' defense remains one of the NBA's worst units and undoes many of the gains that its top-10 offense makes.
With Reaves looking at weeks on the sidelines, the Lakers will have to get it together.
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