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Reading: Austin Reaves Gets Brutally Honest On Lakers’ Struggles Amid Latest Losing Streak
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Home > NBA News & Analysis > Austin Reaves Gets Brutally Honest On Lakers’ Struggles Amid Latest Losing Streak

Austin Reaves Gets Brutally Honest On Lakers’ Struggles Amid Latest Losing Streak

Austin Reaves calls out the Lakers after third straight loss.

Nico Martinez
Dec 24, 2022
4 Min Read
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Credit: Fadeaway World

As Lakers superstar Anthony Davis continues to work his way back to the court, his teammates are going to keep trying to hold down the fort until his return. So far, things haven’t been going well.

Losers of three straight games now, the Lakers are 13-19 with a tough game tomorrow against Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks.

How that game will go is anyone’s guess, but the Lakers know what they have to do. Following a loss against the 14th-place Hornets on Friday, Austin Reaves spoke candidly about the state of his ball club and what adjustments they need to make moving forward if they want to win without their best player.

(via The Athletic)

Zooming out, Lakers’ defense has collapsed without Davis. They are 29th in defensive rating (124.7) and 27th in net rating (-9.9) over the past four games. The perimeter players are still defending as if they have Davis on the back line to clean up their mistakes, only it’s Bryant, Wenyen Gabriel or James, none of whom can replicate James’ interior defense.

“It’s hard when you lose somebody like AD,” Reaves said. “He’s the centerpiece to what we do defensively. … Obviously since he went out, the defensive rating hasn’t been good. So we have to figure out what we need to do to lower that and put ourselves in better situations. … It’s just too many points. You’re not going to win many games like that.”

Entering Friday’s contest, the Lakers were the league’s worst clutch team. Their opponent, the Hornets, entered as the league’s second-worst team.

Naturally, something had to give. And as has too often been the case this season, it was the Lakers. https://t.co/E7Z1pBDpJW

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) December 24, 2022

LeBron James has really come alive since Davis went down, and he’s been doing his part to keep them competitive in these recent stretch of games. Guys like Thomas Bryant, Russell Westbrook, and (of course) Austin Reaves have also stepped up to provide a major spark for the Lakers.

But everybody knows that the Lakers go as far as Davis takes them, and there are some big questions about his health and durability heading into the new year.


Anthony Davis Hoping To Avoid Surgery On Injured Foot

While Davis isn’t yet close to a comeback, he might not be that far away, either. According to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the pain has gone down, and there is optimism he could return sooner than expected.

ESPN Sources: The pain has subsided in past several days in Anthony Davis’ foot and he’s expected to rest it for another 7-to-10 days and have it re-evaluated and see if he can return to play. For now, there’s hope that a procedure can be avoided.

So it seems like there are some good things happening with AD’s recovery. Now, all the Lakers have to do is make sure they are good enough to stay within striking distance of the playoffs.

Playing better defense would be a great start, but that’s a lot easier said than done when your team’s best defender is the one on the sidelines.

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TAGGED:Austin ReavesLos Angeles Lakers Archive
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ByNico Martinez
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Nico Martinez is a veteran staff writer for Fadeaway World from Brooklyn, New York. He joined Fadeaway World in 2016 and is currently residing in Columbia, South Carolina. Nico holds a degree in Sports Management from Columbia International University where he built a strong foundation in the inner workings of sports media and management. Nico's contributions have significantly enhanced the credibility and depth of Fadeaway World's content, earning him recognition across the sports journalism community. His work has been discussed in prestigious publications like Sports Illustrated. A dedicated follower of LeBron James, Nico often leads coverage on news related to the basketball star. With nearly a decade of experience in sports journalism, Nico consistently provides comprehensive and timely basketball news, engaging a wide audience of basketball enthusiasts.Nico's most desired player to interview, past or present, is Kevin Durant. He is particularly keen on asking Durant if he has any regrets about his career, especially concerning his departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and why he engages so much with fans on social media. 
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