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The Lakers and Mavericks are at odds over a medical scan.
On Saturday, Lakers coach JJ Redick said the Mavericks’ staff performed an MRI on the wrong part of Austin Reaves’s body.
“Our medical team followed standard imaging protocols based on the information provided at the time,” the Mavericks said in a statement on Tuesday. “There was no error in the scan performed.”
Redick told reporters on Saturday that Reaves needed two MRIs to correctly diagnose a Grade 2 left oblique strain and blamed the Mavericks staff for mishandling the initial scan. Reaves suffered the injury in the first half of the Lakers’ 139–96 loss to the Thunder on Thursday. He returned to the game, but hasn’t played since.
“I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” Redick said. “So, not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned, but they scanned the wrong area.”
Reaves has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season. ESPN reported that the guard is expected to miss four to six weeks. Before the Lakers’ 123–87 loss to the Thunder on Tuesday, Redick took a less accusatory tone, but didn’t apologize for his claim, either.
“In the end, we got the image we needed,” Redick said. “And obviously very appreciative, because it’s happened throughout the season whenever the home team is accommodating to us, just like we would be for them. And we’re going to move on.”
The Lakers are 50–29 with four games remaining, and currently trail the Nuggets for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference by one game. They still hold the tiebreaker over Denver by winning the season series. A team spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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