After a long summer, Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers are set to begin the 2024-25 season on Tuesday when they kick off Opening Night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While the Lakers might not be considered title contenders by most, they’re still one of the NBA’s main draws and will have countless eyes on them when they hit the floor against the Timberwolves. Storylines abound for the matchup as it’ll mark head coach JJ Redick’s official debut on the sidelines while fans will eagerly wait to see the moment when LeBron and Bronny James share the floor.
For players like Reaves, they’ll look to reestablish themselves in the team’s new system under Redick. Reaves is expected to thrive in the environment and structure that Redick is building as he’ll be asked to do more on both ends of the floor.
Los Angeles has struggled out of the gate the past few seasons, so it was no surprise to hear Reaves emphasize the need to get off to a stronger start so they have better playoff seeding at the end of the regular season.
“Yeah, I feel like last couple of years we’ve been playing catch-up,” Reaves said after practice on Monday. “We haven’t had strong first parts of the year. I think that’s a big component of having a good year — getting out on a good note and continuing that.
“Coming out on a high note. We have three games at home. Try to go win all of them. And then I think we’re an every-other-day road trip. The first one of the year. I think it’s tough to play catch-up in the NBA because it’s so fatiguing. Not just on your body but mentally. So I think an early good start would be good for us.”
It sounds simple, but the Lakers have truly gotten in their own way the past few years which has forced them to go full throttle toward the end of the season. That pace of play has come back to bite the team in the postseason, so it’s important they bank wins early on in the year to save themselves some trouble down the road.
Austin Reaves enjoying set rotations and substitution patterns
One of the major complaints under former head coach Darvin Ham was the lack of consistency when it came to playing time and roles. However, JJ Redick has been much more organized in this regard and Austin Reaves is already enjoying the set rotations and substitution patterns.
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