Tag: Austin Reaves

Austin Reaves took being dunked on by Jalen Johnson in stride

On Monday against the Hawks, Lakers guard Austin Reaves got posterized by Jalen Johnson, but he didn’t seem to mind too much.

The Los Angeles Lakers got back on track, at least for the moment, with a much-needed 136-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. The win snapped a two-game losing slide and put them back into ninth place in the Western Conference.

However, early in the game, it didn’t look good for the Lakers. They gave up the first eight points and fell behind, 11-2, with 9:50 left in the first quarter.

On Atlanta’s very first possession of the game, Jalen Johnson, an emerging forward, ran out on a fast break and dunked over Austin Reaves when Reaves tried to draw a charging foul.

The Lakers guard was asked about the play afterward by Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, and he didn’t seem to take it personally.

“I think that might be the first time I’ve ever been like, really dunked on,” Reaves said. “So I made it a really long time without being very athletic, picking my spots to get out of the way. Tried to take a charge. I don’t know, super athletic kid. And he got one. The longer I play the game, I’m sure it’s gonna happen again.

“So I ain’t too worried about it because kind of the whole sequence of that being the start, and then them kind of having that run. I’m sitting there like, [expletive], that’s what started it all, but we responded really well. And it just gives us the knowing if a team comes out like that, then we can, turn it around pretty quick.”

Reaves’ defensive shortcomings have often been exposed this season, but this was the first time he had been embarrassed in that fashion. Although he had a lackluster outing by scoring just 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, he and his mates had the last laugh.

Watch: Austin Reaves steals inbounds pass, feeds LeBron James for dunk

Austin Reaves and LeBron James combined for a highlight play in the second quarter of Monday’s Lakers versus Hawks game.

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost two games in a row and three of their last five during a critical stretch, and they’re practically starving for wins right now. They sit 10th in the Western Conference, and there is an outside chance they will miss the play-in tournament.

They took the court on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks looking to rectify things, and after a disjointed start, they asserted themselves and opened a double-digit lead.

In the process of doing so, Austin Reaves and LeBron James combined for a highlight play. Reaves stole an inbounds pass and went behind the back to feed a cutting James for a dunk.

James, who scored 40 points in Saturday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, led the way early on Monday with 12 first-quarter points.

Austin Reaves: Lakers must treat every game as a must-win game

Austin Reaves realizes the Lakers need a much greater sense of urgency than what they have shown.

The Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the season series against the Sacramento Kings when they lost, 120-107, to De’Aaron Fox’s crew on Wednesday. In doing so, they blew a golden opportunity to move up in the Western Conference standings and possibly avoid the play-in tournament.

As a result, they are in ninth place in the West with a 36-31 record, two full games behind the eighth-place Dallas Mavericks.

If the Lakers still have a shot at finishing sixth in the conference, it’s a slim one. Guard Austin Reaves, who was their only consistent offensive threat on Wednesday, said from here on out, they need to act as if every game is a must-win contest.

Via Lakers Nation:

“We just got to buckle down and treat every game as a must-win, basically just approach it like that. Put our best foot forward and try to win every game we play.”

All too often this season, the Purple and Gold have come out flat, especially against teams they should’ve beaten, and lost, often by sizable margins. It’s arguably the biggest reason they have a substantially worse record than what many expected at this point.

Reaves, however, wasn’t flat on Wednesday. He scored 28 points and hit seven 3-pointers. It was one of his best performances of the year.

Los Angeles will play its next four games at home, beginning with a matchup on Saturday against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who are in 10th place in the West. The Warriors are one game behind L.A. in the standings, and a loss to them would drop L.A. into 10th, at least for the moment.

LeBron James dared D’Angelo Russell to shoot during a hot streak with a funny face and perfect pass

This was an awesome moment for the Lakers.

When he is in a groove on the court, there are few players tougher to stop than D’Angelo Russell.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard was having one of those stretches on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the fourth quarter, Russell made two 3-pointers in back-to-back possessions. He clearly had a hot hand and had the ball in his hands once more.

Russell passed the ball to LeBron James on the perimeter but the NBA’s all-time leading scorer knew that his teammate was in the middle of a hot streak. James nearly immediately threw it back to Russell, who used a couple nasty dribbles before hitting yet another 3-pointer.

It was a great encapsulation of team chemistry for the Lakers, who celebrated the impressive shot from Russell.

While that was a fun moment for the group, perhaps the best part of it was not actually captured on the TV broadcast. Fortunately, however, a fan at the game provided a second camera angle of this possession.

In that video, you can see the facial expression that James made when he received the pass from Russell. He knew that it was Russell who needed to shoot it so he could have a third consecutive 3-pointer for the Lakers.

After the game, during his walk-off interview, Russell alluded to this moment when he said that his teammates find him when he is hot:

Lakers guard Austin Reaves also knew that James would pass it back:

“As soon as he got the ball, me and AD stood up. We knew it was going up even when he passed it. We knew Bron was gonna give it back to him.”

Russell ought to feel confident after performing so well against one of the best teams in the NBA.

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Austin Reaves may be reverting back to last season’s form

After being a little inconsistent the first half of this season, it looks like Austin Reaves is back to being the best version of himself.

In the opening weeks and months of the 2023-24 season, Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves’ play was up and down. He often struggled with his shooting, particularly his outside shooting, and he didn’t quite look like the standout he was last season.

There were whispers that perhaps he was a bit worn down after spending much of last summer with Team USA in the FIBA World Cup. Some even wondered if perhaps what he did last season was something of a fluke and he was merely regressing to his mean.

But in the last 14 games, Reaves has stepped up. During that stretch, he averaged 18.1 points and 6.7 assists a game while shooting 51.1% from the field and 41.8% from 3-point range. That is the type of efficiency he maintained throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

It’s no coincidence that L.A. won nine of those 14 contests and was third in points per game, second in offensive rating, fourth in assists and (believe it or not) fifth in 3-point shooting accuracy during that stretch.

While Reaves’ defense is still a work in progress, he has even shown signs of improving on that end of the floor. Watch him in action during Wednesday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

This is the version of Reaves the Lakers need if they are to replicate last year’s late-season run.

Spencer Dinwiddie is already helping Austin Reaves to play better

A byproduct of Spencer Dinwiddie being a Laker is the fact that he’s already making life easier for Austin Reaves.

Last season, Austin Reaves was one of the NBA’s breakout studs. He quickly started to realize his potential in just his second season, and in doing so, he played a key role in helping the Los Angeles Lakers reach the Western Conference Finals.

It led to some predicting an All-Star selection or two for him in the near future. But this season, his efficiency has declined, while he has been exposed on the defensive end. The Lakers have played him quite a bit at point guard this season, something he never did last season, and it became clear that he isn’t a natural point guard.

But two weeks ago, they signed guard Spencer Dinwiddie from the buyout market. Dinwiddie is a natural ball-handling and facilitating guard, and it was projected that he would make life easier for Reaves in particular.

While Dinwiddie is still getting his feet wet as a member of the Purple and Gold, he has allowed Reaves to benefit from his presence.

Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT, a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach who is a huge Lakers fan (and has his own YouTube channel), explained how Reaves has been aided by the team’s newest addition.

Watch: Austin Reaves makes showtime pass to LeBron James for the dunk

In the first quarter of Tuesday’s Lakers versus Pistons game, Austin Reaves made a spectacular pass to LeBron James for a fast-break dunk.

The Los Angeles Lakers had been off since defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, but they returned to work on Tuesday versus the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons have the NBA’s worst record, but they had won four of their last nine games and were competitive against L.A. in the opening minutes.

However, that’s when the Purple and Gold turned it on. The team went on a heater to take a double-digit lead, and it produced some highlight reel-worthy plays.

After a blocked shot by D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves came down on a fast break and delivered a behind-the-back pass to LeBron James for the dunk.

Reaves’ shooting has been up and down this season, but he dished at least 10 assists in two of his last three games, and he is averaging 5.4 assists a game on the season.

Darvin Ham could use Spencer Dinwiddie in three-guard lineups

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham could reportedly use lineups with D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and newcomer Spencer Dinwiddie.

On Tuesday, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 30-year-old veteran guard, is expected to make his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers after they signed him on Saturday. He was waived by the Toronto Raptors on Thursday after they received him in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Thus L.A. may have gotten a quality player without giving up anything in return.

Dinwiddie isn’t the most efficient offensive player, at least in certain situations. But he should give the team a legitimate ball-handling and facilitating guard who can also score when needed. There is also reason to believe he can be an effective defender when motivated.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is reportedly considering playing Dinwiddie in three-guard lineups alongside D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.

Plenty of fans have criticized Ham for going with lineups that utilize three guards. Fortunately, Dinwiddie is 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, so perhaps the team could get away with Russell, Reaves and Dinwiddie playing together in small doses.

Nikola Jokic capitalized on a gamble by Austin Reaves with a dazzling pass that wowed NBA fans

Jokic has the fastest hands in the league and he has eyes in the back of his head, too.

On a night that included a boring trade deadline and the unveiling of a Kobe Bryant statue, the Lakers still had a game to play against the Nuggets.

Denver led by as many as 15 points at one point in the match. But the Lakers were able to tie the game, 104-104, with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, however, there is only so much you can do to slow down Nikola Jokic.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP was defended by Anthony Davis near the top of the key. Austin Reaves left the perimeter for a gamble to send a double team and try to grab a steal, however, and that left Michael Porter Jr. wide open on the left wing.

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Jokic, who had his back to the basket, fully pivoted his body when he saw Reaves sprint toward him. But the big man may have the fastest hands in the league, as we learned in a recent profile in the New Yorker, and the gamble by Reaves didn’t work out.

The big man quickly delivered a perfect pass to Porter, who was able to hit the uncontested catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with just over one minute left on the clock:

This also sealed an 8-0 run for Denver, which gave the Nuggets a big enough lead to close out the game.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported that Porter “tried to warn” Jokic that Reaves was coming for a double but the big man did not hear him. Instead, he just sensed the coverage and made the right reaction.

Perhaps the craziest part of this sequence, though, is that it maybe wasn’t even Jokic’s most baffling pass of the night:

That came earlier in the game when Jokic somehow delivered a behind-the-back assist to Justin Holiday.

But let’s look at some of the reactions to his pass in the fourth quarter:

Austin Reaves listed as ideal ‘last-minute trade target’ for Bulls

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves was mentioned as a potential Chicago Bulls trade target idea.

The trade deadline is upon us, and the Chicago Bulls have been absolutely silent. Zach LaVine’s season-ending surgery likely puts an end to any potential deal sending him out, but they have a bunch of other players who they could look to move on from at this year’s deadline.

However, while most of the focus has been on who the Bulls could potentially send out at the deadline, more buzz should surround who could come back to Chicago in a deal. Dan Favale of Bleacher Report recently listed out five potential last-minute trade targets for every team in the league.

For the Bulls, one of the guys he suggested they target is Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves.

“Austin Reaves, 25, isn’t exactly ultra-young. But his contract is team-friendly, and the Los Angeles Lakers still profile as one of the most likely suitors for DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso,” Favale wrote. ” Reaves would fill an offensive void following any trade, and frankly, Chicago should just be trying to extract as much value from the Purple and Gold as possible.”

Up to this point, the Lakers are reportedly been unwilling to include Reaves in any deals, as they view him as a part of their future. However, if they got desperate to upgrade the roster with someone like DeRozan or Caruso, the Bulls should at least push for Reaves to be in the deal.

So far this season, Reaves is averaging 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists while shooting 48.6% from the field and 35.5% from behind the three-point line.

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