After a slow start upon joining the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic has started to look more like usual himself in recent games.
Doncic caught fire early in the Lakers’ win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, scoring 21 points in the first quarter alone to build a big lead. He wound up finishing with 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
Austin Reaves has definitely enjoyed playing with Doncic, stating the obvious that watching his scoring outburst as a teammate is much better than as an opponent.
“It’s very fun. It’s much better this way than the alternative,” Reaves said. “Trying to guard him in those situations is almost impossible because he shoots the 3 so well. He’s willing to shoot the mid-range and get to the cup, but his passing is probably, in my opinion, one of his best attributes, so you always have to kind of stay home unless you want to give up a lob. If you’re trying to take the lob away with the low man, he’s going to give up the corner three. One really underrated thing about him is how strong he is, and it’s hard to stay in front of him because he uses his strength so well.”
In fact, when Doncic gets it going offensively, Reaves believes he should shoot even more than he does.
“It’s awesome. He continues to play the game the right way and to be honest I wanted him to keep firing him up because they were calling him at a higher rate,” Reaves said. “Like I said, he plays the game the right way. If you blitz him, he’s not trying to race the big. He’s throwing it to the open guy and letting us play 4-on-3, so it makes it pretty easy when you play the game the right way.”
Doncic has shown that he can make all of his teammates better as when he has it going, teams are forced to double-team him. That leads to his teammates being open and guys like Reaves have taken full advantage of it.
“It’s fun. Like I just said, he draws so much attention on the offensive end that I would say 90% of the time, you have to blitz him,” Reaves added. “Like I said, he makes the right play every time, so he’s not trying to force it. If they put two on the ball it hits the roller and then lets us play four on three. That’s advantage basketball, as we say, in a place that we want to play out of. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know him. Good dude.
“Needs to stop taking my money and the plane playing cards. It’s been, like I said, a lot of fun, and I look forward to continuing to grow that relationship.”
Luka Doncic doesn’t understand how Lakers got Austin Reaves as undrafted free agent
Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic have already built a strong connection and project as the Lakers’ backcourt for the long-term future. Considering how far Reaves has come, it’s hard to believe the Lakers got him as an undrafted free agent just four years ago. In fact, Doncic recently stated that he can’t believe it at all.
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!
