Austin Reaves is, rightfully, getting all of the attention following the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Sacramento Kings. But lost in Reaves’ career-high 51 points and a near triple-double was center Deandre Ayton’s best performance with the Lakers so far.
Ayton finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds with five of those coming on the offensive end in the Lakers’ win. It was a glimpse of what the center is capable of in the middle and also showed some growth in the chemistry between the big man and Reaves.
And afterwards, Ayton spoke about his connection with Reaves, believing that the guard has been analyzing him since he joined the Lakers and is now beginning to have a feel for his game, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“AR has been dissecting me a little bit since I got here. I think he’s starting to have a feel for my game you know, how I put my emotions into the game. I guess he knows through practice and training camp, yeah, if I‘m offensive rebounding and dunking the ball yeah, I’m here. Im playing on edge. Just everybody in general just sharing that consistent energy it was just so constant throughout the game we just had spurts of everybody contributing in their own way. Yeha that was my way, being on the boards really. Just trying to come out the half pretty strong. The game was neck and neck the whole time so we were trying to break some of that up and he gave me the burst I need where he got on my back.”
Ayton has spoken about not getting much time on the court with Luka Doncic and LeBron James, but Reaves has been working with him throughout training camp and the preseason and that connection is now beginning to show. With Doncic and James out, Reaves and Ayton become the centerpieces of this Lakers team and both stepped up.
As Ayton himself noted, when he’s rebounding and dunking the ball that is when he’s playing on edge and that is the player the Lakers need to reach their ultimate potential.
Lakers teammates ‘trolling’ Deandre Ayton before games to fire him up
The Lakers know they need Deandre Ayton to be locked to be their best when it matters most and they are already figuring out ways to push the big man to that point. Ayton spoke about his teammates trolling him and trying to tick him off before games in order to fire him up.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
