Austin Reaves is out for the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 oblique strain.

Austin Reaves has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with a Grade 2 oblique strain, the Lakers announced. The injury leaves Los Angeles without both Luka Doncic (who's been dealing with his own issues) and Reaves heading into what should be the most important stretch of the season.

Making matters worse, there's a bizarre subplot: reports emerged that when Reaves was traded to the Lakers from the Mavericks, Dallas allegedly scanned the wrong body part during his MRI evaluation. The Lakers are understandably frustrated, and the situation has added unnecessary drama to an already stressful injury blow.

LeBron James proved the Lakers can still compete without their guards — he dropped 26/8/11 in a blowout win over the Warriors — but doing that for an entire playoff series is another question entirely. LA is currently tied with the Rockets for 4th in the West, and their path through the postseason just got significantly harder.