Jake LaRavia left Game 2 against the Houston Rockets after suffering a minor ankle sprain in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said the forward is day to day. The status of LaRavia was still unclear a day before Game 3, with the series shifting to Houston on Friday.
LaRavia, a Lakers forward, has been a small but steady piece in the first two games of the series. Through two contests, he averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17 minutes as Los Angeles built a 2-0 lead.
The injury matters because the Lakers are already playing without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Doncic is out for the entire first round with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, and Reaves is dealing with a left oblique muscle strain. Even with those absences, Los Angeles won Games 1 and 2 and held Houston under 100 points in both.
That leaves Friday’s Game 3 as the next checkpoint for LaRavia and a Lakers team trying to keep its grip on the series while waiting to see whether another rotation player can take the floor.
