Is Austin Reaves Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Lakers vs. Bulls)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is nearing a return to the lineup from his calf strain, but it won't happen on Monday night against the Chicago Bulls.

Reaves has been ruled out against Chicago, but head coach J.J. Redick has said that Reaves should return on the team's eight-game road trip. The Lakers still have several games left on that trip, including a Wednesday night matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, it appears Reaves could be back in the lineup as soon as that matchup.

“I forgot that he was even on the team … We’re so happy for him to be back” - Rui Hachimura on Austin Reaves’ impending return from a calf injury, that could happen as soon as Wednesday in Cleveland pic.twitter.com/eh3800pngl
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 25, 2026

Getting Reaves back would be a major boost for the Lakers, who are a top-six team in the Western Conference but have struggled on the defensive end.

Reaves' return would improve L.A.'s offense instanly and it may be able to mask some of the defensive issues that the team has. This season, the star guard is averaging 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shootin 50.7 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from 3-point range.

With Reaves set to miss this game (his 16th in a row), I'm eyeing another Laker in the prop market on Monday.

Best Lakers Prop Bet vs. Bulls

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

LeBron James OVER 6.5 Assists (-135)

This season,LeBron James is averaging 6.9 assists on 11.8 potential assists per game, and I love this matchup for him against the Chicago defense.

The Bulls rank 27th in opponent assists per game, 24th in defensive rating and 26th in opponent points per game in the 2025-26 campaign.

In the month of January, James is averaging 7.3 assists per game, clearing 6.5 dimes in seven of the 12 games he's appeared in. The four-time champion should remain in a big playmaking role with Reaves out, as he and Luka Doncic have spearheaded the offense.

Chicago's weak defense should help the Lakers (No. 8 in offense) hang a big number on the scoreboard on Monday, and James has shown that he's looking more and more like his usual self over the last month.

In January, LeBron's potential assists have jumped from 11.8 per game to 13.3 per game, and he only needs to convert about half of those to clear this prop. He's a great target against this bottom-10 defense on Monday.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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