Lakers guard Austin Reaves will miss at least a month with a grade 2 strain in his left calf, the team announced Friday, one day after he left the game against the Houston Rockets at halftime.

Reaves, averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2), had already missed three games with what the team called a “mild” calf strain. He returned off the bench while playing on a minutes restriction against Phoenix on Dec. 23 and reprised his starting role on Christmas Day in a loss to the Rockets. But after scoring 12 points in 15 minutes in the first half, he was ruled out for the second half with “left calf soreness.”

Calf injuries have been major concerns across the NBA since three stars — Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum — suffered Achilles tears during last year’s playoffs. Haliburton and Lillard have previously dealt with calf injuries.

Lakers star guard Luka Doncic suffered a calf injury on Christmas Day last year while with the Dallas Mavericks and missed two months, during which he was traded to the Lakers.

“I know how it is to go to a calf injury. It’s not fun at all,” Doncic said Thursday after the game. “[I’ll] just be there to support him. Take your time. Calves are dangerous so take your time.”

The Lakers (19-10) are losing their second-leading scorer at a critical time of the season. They have lost three consecutive games, their only losing streak of the season, and their defense in the last 15 games has been among the worst in the league.

After the third consecutive blowout loss, coach JJ Redick questioned how much his players cared. He promised an “uncomfortable” film session and team meeting at practice on Saturday before the Lakers face Sacramento at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

After a difficult stretch of the schedule that included eight out of 10 games against teams with winning records, the Lakers have four of their next five against teams in the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Outside of a home game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, the Lakers play the Sacramento Kings, the Memphis Grizzlies (on Jan. 2 and 4) and at New Orleans on Jan. 6.

Reaves’ absence could extend until the beginning of the Lakers’ Grammy road trip that begins on Jan. 20 against Denver.

The Baltimore Ravens are in must-win mode for the remainder of the season if they wish to make the playoffs, but it’s likely their star quarterback won’t be able to help them achieve that goal.

Lamar Jackson was listed as doubtful on the Ravens’ injury report for their game against the Green Bay Packers this Saturday after suffering a back injury that knocked him out of the contest against the New England Patriots in Week 16.

Jackson hasn’t practiced all week for Baltimore, and it couldn’t be worse timing considering the playoff implications the team faces in the final two weeks.

The Ravens, 7-8 on the year, cannot lose their last two games, or they will miss the playoffs. They have made it in each of the last three seasons as well as six of the past seven.

But it appears head coach John Harbaugh and the rest of the organization will have to lean on Tyler “Snoop” Huntley once more, as Jackson’s backup is likely to be thrust into this critical situation as the team’s starting quarterback.

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Huntley took over for Jackson when he was injured in the second quarter last Sunday in the 28-24 loss, when the Patriots stormed back in the fourth quarter to clinch their own playoff berth.

Huntley was 9-of-10 passing, but only for 65 yards as he failed to keep drives going with what some fans believed was questionable play-calling, considering running back Derrick Henry was rarely used in the quarter despite his second touchdown early on putting the Ravens up by 11. Henry finished the game with 128 yards on 18 carries.

Huntley spoke to reporters earlier this week, where he understood the stakes.

“A lot of our games have been must-win, and every week we must win, so we have to focus on going 1-0 this week,” Huntley said, via ESPN. “If we’re doing everything that we need to do, we’ll get that.”

Henry also believes in Huntley.

“He goes out like he’s the starter,” the star back said. “He practices that way, and he prepares that way. So yes, if Snoop is going to go out there, he’s going to roll and do what he has to do.”

Huntley, who has 15 career starts under his NFL belt, one coming earlier this season for Baltimore, has gone 6-9 in games where he needs to start for either the Ravens or Miami Dolphins, whom he played for in 2024. He is 1-0 this season in a spot start for Jackson, which came against the Chicago Bears on the road.

It will be another road start for Huntley, but in a very hostile Lambeau Field environment on Saturday night. The Packers are also looking to secure a playoff spot at 9-5-1 on the year.

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When the Lakers were climbing up the Western Conference standings, improbably winning games with LeBron James and Luka Doncic injured and celebrating Austin Reaves’ 51-point performance and ascent into stardom, the vibes were high. Players jumped off the bench to cheer for each other. They championed team bonding exercises such as slideshow presentations that introduced themselves to each other and a field trip to a Porsche driving experience. It all felt surprisingly easy, especially for a team that had several new additions.

“We had it,” Redick said wistfully Thursday. “We had it. I always say this about culture, I always say this about a good team being a functioning organism.”

Redick snapped his fingers.

“It can change like that,” he continued. “We don’t have it right now.”

All three of the Lakers’ most recent losses have been blowouts. With an average margin of defeat of 20.7 points, their total point differential has dropped to minus-15 on the season, which ranks 16th in the NBA.

Forward Jake LaRavia said in the locker room that there felt like a “disconnect” on the team, but couldn’t verbalize more about how things had turned so suddenly. The team’s seven-game winning streak at the end of November feels like a distant memory, although it should serve as a constant reminder of how a team shouldn’t let its guard down, especially when it was just collecting wins off teams with losing records.

“This [has] kind of been the trending thing even when we were winning,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said. “Obviously wins kinda shadow a lot of stuff. But it’s been the same pretty much all year of how we finished games, lose games: transition defense, rebounding and stuff like that. It’s been a trend all year.”

LeBron James, who played in his 13th game this season after missing the first 14 games because of sciatica, had 18 points and five assists and declined to speak with reporters after the game, along with Marcus Smart (six points, two rebounds) and Rui Hachimura (zero points, two assists).

To further exasperate the lingering injury bug, Reaves left the game after the first half because of left calf soreness. It was the same calf that sidelined him for three games last week.