With both Luka Doncic and LeBron James injured, Austin Reaves has become the focal point of the Los Angeles Lakers’ offense. Head coach JJ Redick has put the ball in Reaves’ hands and the guard has responded averaging 46.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 56.8% from the field and 50% from deep in the last two games.
But while the Lakers obviously miss the skills that Doncic and James provide on the court, those two are also the leaders of this team in terms of communication and replacing that is just as important. Thankfully, Reaves is also stepping up in that facet as well.
“Yeah, I have,” Redick said when asked if he’s noticed Reaves being more vocal. “Just a great example of it, but they challenged that call in the fourth on the block. I think it was [Jerami] Grant that blocked it on DK [Dalton Knecht]. We just had set up a pretty simple baseline out-of-bounds play. That call had gotten overturned with 1.3 on the clock and he’s coming out of the timeout [saying], ‘DK, work your way in under, I’ll throw the lob over the top.’
“It’s just it’s simple stuff like that that I’m seeing again and again. Whether it’s on defense or offense, he’s been great in the huddles. Yesterday, [it was] just as connected as our huddles have been, player to player, during timeouts. So yeah, I see it constantly.”
These are the things that aren’t spoken on nearly as much, but are so important in the growth of a player like Reaves. Stepping up with his play on the court is one thing, but being a vocal leader is a real next step for him and he is doing that as well.
The Lakers are fighting to stay afloat despite so many injuries this early in the season and Reaves is literally doing everything in his power to lead this team without its two superstars, and Redick is noticing. And these are the types of things that continue to endear Reaves to the Lakers organization and have him in line for a big payday next offseason.
Austin Reaves: Lakers played hard, but didn’t execute well enough to win
The Lakers were unable to pick up a win on the second night of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers with their extremely shorthanded roster. While Austin Reaves feels the Lakers didn’t lack for effort, he thinks the team just didn’t execute well enough.
“Obviously, we didn’t play as good as we wanted to tonight, but like JJ said after the game, it’s tough with short rotations. We got seven guys, I think, was out. So, we played hard. We played hard enough to win. We just didn’t execute as good as we needed to.”
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