The Lakers are facing the Thunder tonight in Game 2 of their Western semifinals series. Austin Reaves had a lot of expectations on his shoulders going into Game 1, as he has been the Lakers’ second option in scoring behind Luka Doncic all season.
But unfortunately, the Thunder defense held him to only eight points, five rebounds, and six assists in Game 1, which further added to his struggles as he’s working towards being 100% healthy while returning from an oblique injury that had kept him out for almost a month.
Since Reaves did not meet expectations for his offensive contribution in the past few games, several analysts and experts criticized him for costing the Lakers. Before tonight’s game, their head coach, JJ Redick, addressed these comments on social media and what makes him confident that Reaves will be able to tune out the ‘noise’.
“First of all, I think he’s one of the least chronically online NBA players there is. It’s really just Trent posting golfing videos on Hillbilly Bogey and then Austin having his PR team post whatever shoe brand he’s with, I’m blanking on the name. That’s basically his online life, so he walks his own path with that.”
“He’s got a great sense of self-accountability, where he’s his worst critic, where he holds himself to a certain standard of play. Had a great conversation with him yesterday and today, so he’ll be good to go,” said Redick.
Ever since Reaves returned from injury, his numbers have reflected that he’s not playing at his 100% potential. In the three games that he has played since his return, he is averaging 15.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 30.4% from the field and 11.8% from beyond the arc.
For a player who averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds with 49.0% shooting from the floor and 36.0% from behind the three-point line, his performance in the playoffs has clearly been far from expectations.
Some may argue that Reaves is a case of what happens when a player rushes back from injury without giving themselves the time needed to recover. Hence, the Lakers should not even rush Doncic’s return simply due to a lack of offensive flow in the first game of this series.
Redick still trusts his players to go out there and bounce back from a horrific Game 1 performance. Near the end of his pregame press conference, JJ Redick detailed what he expects from LeBron James and Austin Reaves in Doncic’s absence.
“I think LeBron just needs to be LeBron. He can dominate a game in a number of ways. We need him to score just like we need Austin to score and Rui to score; that’s how you win games, getting your best offensive players to score. LeBron can obviously manipulate defenses and make great reads,” said Redick.
So Redick also has faith in the fact that Reaves will get himself back from the slump and trusts his star instincts to help the Lakers’ offense in these playoffs. Reaves is up for a potential contract extension in the summer as he has a $14.9 million player option in the final year of his contract. His performance in the rest of this series could determine the amount of leverage he has in the conversations that are yet to come.
Will Reaves tune out the noise and help LeBron James power the Lakers to steal Game 1? Or will we see more of the same as we have from him in the past three games? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
