Mavericks deny making a mistake with Austin Reaves' MRI after Lakers coach JJ Redick's accusation

Imagn Images

Did the Dallas Mavericks mess up Austin Reaves' MRI? Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said Saturday that they "scanned the wrong area," but the Mavericks denied Tuesday that the medical staff did anything wrong.

"Our medical team followed standard imaging protocols based on the information provided at the time," the team said in a statement (via DLLS). "There was no error in the scan performed."

Redick initially said that, because of Dallas' mistake, Reaves had to get a second MRI, which showed that he had a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Reaves suffered the injury during the Lakers' loss to the Thunder last week and left the game in the third quarter. He's expected to miss four to six weeks, putting Los Angeles in a tough position for a playoff run with Luka Dončić likely out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring strain.

"I don't know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area," Redick said Saturday. "So (the mistake was) not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned, but they scanned the wrong area."

On Tuesday, he did not recant the accusation, but he did not reiterate it either.

"In the end, we got the image we needed," Redick told reporters before the Lakers' 123-87 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder (via ESPN). "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."

Well, there you have it. The Lakers got the image, and they ruled Reaves out for the rest of the regular season. If the Mavs really did nothing wrong, Redick should probably apologize, but either way the issue is moot. Even if the Lakers still believe Dallas did them wrong, what's the point of arguing about it?