Live · Period 4 · 10:00
Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns
108 – 92
2026-27 · Regular season
Austin Reaves sits out Lakers practice before Phoenix, Collin Sexton will wear glasses after his 11th set of stitches, and JJ Redick’s 21-page ‘audit’ of an 11-2 start
Austin Reaves did not practice Saturday because of his bruised heel, and his status for Phoenix will come on the Lakers’ injury report. Collin Sexton was a full participant and will wear protective glasses. JJ Redick used the break for a 21-page “audit,” and Ziaire Williams said “you would think we were almost last.”
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Austin Reaves did not practice on Saturday, a day before the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Phoenix Suns. JJ Redick said the guard sat out because of the bruised left heel he took in Wednesday’s win in Milwaukee. The team will reveal his status for Sunday on its official injury report on Saturday evening, Los Angeles time.
Reaves was in slides when the doors opened at the team’s facility in El Segundo, and he had no wrap or boot on his left foot. Collin Sexton was a full participant, Redick said, and Sexton came out of practice with a large bandage over his right eye and a plan for Sunday: protective glasses.
The Lakers are 11-2 with the best record in the NBA and have won seven straight. They have not played since that 123-112 win over the Bucks, and they used the three-day break to take a hard look at themselves.
Reaves: no imaging, still no practice
Reaves landed awkwardly after a missed fast-break dunk in the third quarter in Milwaukee and did not return. X-rays were negative, and on Friday Redick said the team decided against more imaging and called him day-to-day with a heel bruise. Saturday’s session was the next step, and Reaves watched it rather than taking part.
That leaves Sunday open. Reaves scored a season-high 43 in Detroit on Nov. 8 and had 18 points, five assists and three steals in 25 minutes before he left the Bucks game. If he cannot go, the Lakers would lean harder on Luka Dončić, whom Redick expects to play, and on wings such as Ziaire Williams.
Sexton’s 11th set of stitches
Sexton needed stitches near his right eye after a collision in Milwaukee. He said he saw blood on the floor and did not want to keep moving around. He took it in stride. “I was surprised, but I was like, here we go again,” he said. By his count it was the 11th time he has needed stitches.
He said the eye had been swollen shut on Friday. “Yesterday, it was completely closed, so I was a little nervous,” Sexton said. It looked much better by Saturday, and he said the swelling was “not too bad” for his vision. Asked if he would wear a mask, he said no. “I’m gonna go out there tomorrow. I gotta put some glasses and stuff on, just so I make sure it doesn’t open back up. You gotta be cautious,” he said. “I feel pretty good. I was able to go to practice today.”
Redick’s 21-page ‘audit’
The more unusual part of the break came on Friday. Redick said he used the time off to “audit” the first 13 games, and the staff built the meeting around numbers. “I had about 20 things, Greg and Ty and Nate had about 20 things on the defensive end,” Redick said, referring to his assistant coaches. “Our analytics guy got a 21-page presentation that we went over this morning.”
He said the team went through its offense first, measured against the identity the Lakers set for themselves: “organized, unselfish, advantage based.” Then the group went through the statistics behind each of those ideas before moving to the defense. It was paired with a film session.
The timing says something about how Redick sees an 11-2 start. On Friday he also called it “unacceptable” that the third unit has struggled to run the offense in fourth quarters. In Milwaukee, a 114-90 lead with 4:25 left became an 11-point win after the Bucks closed on a 20-7 run. In Detroit, a 26-point lead shrank to one possession.
Ziaire Williams: ‘Got to keep us honest’
Ziaire Williams said the presentation did not feel like a report on the team with the best record in the league. “A lot of good things and a lot of things to clean up,” he said. “Being first in the West, with the stuff that they showed us, you would think we were almost last.” He added, “Got to keep us honest.”
Williams has also talked about the defense as the place where the Lakers can still grow, with a top-10 defense as the floor he wants the group to reach. On Sunday, he will see an old friend. Dillon Brooks, his former teammate in Memphis, now plays for Phoenix. “Dillon, he is one of my favorite teammates ever. As crazy as he is, he’s the complete opposite off the court,” Williams said. “Great player, great competitor.” Then he added, “No friends on the court, though.”
What’s next
The Lakers play the Suns in Phoenix on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. ET, which is 11 p.m. in Cairo. Their next home game is against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Our injuries page will carry the Lakers’ official report with Reaves’ status for Phoenix.
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