Before his hamstring injury in early November, Reaves had shown the type of plug-and-play potential that could make him the Lakers’ best two-way role player, despite his status as an undrafted rookie on a roster laden with vets in the twilight of Hall of Fame careers. Nonetheless, he was averaging more than 20 minutes per game, held the highest plus/minus of any player on the Lakers, and was a regular member of the team’s closing lineup in the games leading up to his injury.
Since his initial clearance after a more than two-week hiatus due to a hamstring strain, it seemed as though Reaves might be on the outside of the Lakers’ rotation looking in, especially as the team’s other, more experienced backcourt players started to hit their strides.