LeBron James is a big fan of teammate Austin Reaves, but on Sunday night against the Houston Rockets, the 38-year-old was rather unhappy with the kind of defense Reaves played on one possession against Jae’Sean Tate.
LeBron James yells at Austin Reaves “guard the motherfu***r”
after he easily gives up deep positioning in the post pic.twitter.com/AWIPq5JxzN
— Jordan Miranda (@TJmiranda) November 20, 2023
Reaves got pushed back too easily on the post and James, who was coming over to help, could not stop Tate from scoring at the rim. LeBron wants more effort from the 25-year-old on the defensive end and you can’t blame him for that.
Reaves is starting to get hunted on defense from time to time and while you understand some of his limitations on that end, some more effort on his part would be appreciated. While LeBron was upset here, he clearly didn’t lose any kind of faith in Reaves.
With the score tied at 100 in the final minute, James passed the ball to Reaves with the shot clock winding down and he repaid that trust by drilling a deep three-pointer. It was part of a solid night in all for Reaves, who had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists off the bench, as the Lakers won 105-104.
AUSTIN REAVES FROM DEEP TO GIVE THE LAKERS THE 103-100 LEAD WITH 23.7 SECONDS LEFT ‼️
Lakers-Rockets | Live on the NBA App 📲https://t.co/aTY77Rqb1m pic.twitter.com/zRF6RmDkLy
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2023
James, meanwhile, was the star of the show with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals. The win meant the Lakers improved to 8-6 and they’ll face the Utah Jazz next on Tuesday.
Austin Reaves On The Moment He Realized That LeBron James Trusts Him
We have seen over the years, that LeBron has a great deal of trust in his teammates on the court. He never hesitates to give them the ball in the big moments, if it is the right basketball play to make.
With Reaves, however, you get the sense there’s an even greater level of trust in him than what we usually see. James believes in his abilities and Reaves revealed the moment he realized that LeBron trusts him.
“The one that stood out to me… in the playoffs, Game 1 against Memphis. When I had a really good fourth quarter… I was on the left side, and I just meant to run the floor… me going to running the floor, and I hear LeBron yell ‘AR, come back’, and he just tosses me the ball… come down hit the three… from that point forward, I could tell the trust level was even more than what I knew it was at that point.”
We saw Reaves running the offense down the stretch a fair few times in the playoffs last season. It’s not often that a team that James is on has someone else run the show in the big moments, and it’s a sign of just how much trust Reaves has earned over time.
LeBron James Explained Why He Loves Austin Reaves
When Reaves was starting to establish himself as a key piece for the Lakers in the second half of last season, there was still some talk of him being a flash in the pan. That narrative changed following his exploits in the playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies and after that, James explained why he loves Reaves.
“This m*****f****r,” James told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I don’t give a f**k about, like, athleticism; how great you can shoot the ball; how high you can jump; how fast you can run. I like high basketball IQ guys. Obviously, you got to have that s**t to win a championship. You got to have guys that can do extraordinary s**t. But, like, I’ve always had a liking to guys that just know how to play the f*****g game of basketball.”
When you have the kind of basketball IQ that LeBron has, you’d have a greater appreciation for others who make smart plays as well. The two are really a match made in heaven when it comes to being teammates.
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