Much has been made about the need for the Lakers’ big three to build chemistry with one another. While that can sometimes be a blanket statement, the easiest evidence of their current problems has been the play of Austin Reaves.
Luka Dončić certainly has still been able to produce at a high level. LeBron James has some early bumps in the road before starting to find his groove in more recent games.
Austin Reaves, however, has not had that breakthrough. Often, he’s been relegated to being just another
guy on the court, looking more like a role player as opposed to the All-Star he was to start the year. While there have been glimpses in plenty of games of the player he was, it’s never been sustained.
As he’s continued to struggle, the volume of the conversation around him has grown. Prior to Friday’s game against the Pacers, Redick was asked about Reaves.
“Austin and I talked,” Redick said. “In the same way that LeBron sort of is hunting those transition opportunities, Austin, when he gets those throw-aheads, has to hunt those paint touch opportunities and sort of make plays out of that. We can obviously do a better job of calling a play for him.
“Last two games we’ve given him a minute less with Luke and a minute more with LeBron in the substitution matrix, so I think that’s given him a little bit more on-ball duties, But, look, I’d have to look back at last year or the beginning of the season when we did have those three for those few games, his usage percentage is like 1% lower. It’s not like something drastic.”
Not much changed for Reaves in the game that followed. He finished with 19 points on 6-14 shooting and was a -12 in a game the Lakers won by double digits. It was another game where he struggled and showed glimpses of his old self, too.
Predictably, Reaves was a topic of conversation again prior to Sunday’s game.
In theory, with LeBron sidelined with an elbow injury, this could serve as a time for Reaves to find his groove again. However, even if that happens, the return of LeBron changes the dynamic again.
However, as things are, anything would help Reaves right now. He’s clearly not himself and needs some type of boost. Hopefully, it’s something that comes in the absence of LeBron as the Lakers can’t rely on heroic performances from Luka every night.
At their best this season, the Lakers had an All-Star version of Reaves. If they want to get back to that point, they certainly need him to turn things around and do so soon.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
