There was no LeBron James or Luka Dončić for the Lakers in their contest against the Kings. But so what? They employ Austin Reaves.
He alone can walk into Northern California and dismantle the Kings and he did
just that on Sunday. Reaves had, without question, his greatest game, scoring 51 points en route to a 127-120 win.
While Austin was the best player on the floor, he wasn’t the only one who stepped up. Deandre Ayton was a monster on the boards, Rui Hachimura was scoring all over and Jake LaRavia was huge in the fourth quarter.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Austin Reaves
39 minutes, 51 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 12-22 FG, 6-10 3PT, 21-22 FT, +22
Reaves is destined for a huge payday in the summer and games like these are why. There is no amount of pressure, responsibility or usage he can’t handle. The Lakers needed him to be great with their superstars out. And, just like he has before, he stepped up.
Reaves shot 50% from inside the arc, 70% from 3-point range and made 21 of his 22 free throws.
Sure, that number of foul calls will anger casuals, but if you watched the game, you’d see the Kings being unnecessarily aggressive with Austin even when he was nowhere near the basket.
Reaves knows how to draw a call. When you help him with dumb decisions, it leads to disaster. It wasn’t just scoring that Reaves did. He had 11 rebounds, and had he gotten one more assist, he would’ve had a legendary triple-double. He’ll have to settle for a career-high in points and a road win.
Grade: A+
Rui Hachimura
40 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 7-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-4 FT, +5
Hachimura is off to a great offensive start this year. He went 7-10 from the field and was aggressive driving to the rim. The biggest issue that Hachimura can still fix is his ability to crash the boards. He’s just too big not to help clean up the glass.
Minus that, he’s been as good as you can ask and is quickly cementing himself as inarguably a starter on this roster, regardless of who is available. His team-high 40 minutes played against the Kings is a sign of that.
Grade: A-
Deandre Ayton
36 minutes, 22 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 10-17 FG, 2-4 FT, -6
Grabbing 15 rebounds by yourself is ridiculous. After a lackluster debut, Ayton has been fantastic over the past two games.
It’s a cliche, but Ayton just has to be a star in his role and he’s been that. Be a center who protects the paint, grabs rebounds, scores on mismatches and everything else will work itself out.
Grade: A
Gabe Vincent
19 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 0-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, 3-3 FT, +5
Vincent suffered a left ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return. He was seen in a walking boot postgame, which doesn’t bode well for his odds of playing tomorrow against the Blazers.
In this game, he wasn’t playing well. His shots were all off, defense wasn’t impactful, and he was, at best, a replacement-level player.
Vincent needs to do more to remain a starter, but right now, health has to be his focus.
Grade: D-
Marcus Smart
31 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-8 FG, 0-3 3PT, 5-6 FT, +7
Overall, there was more good Smart than bad Smart in this game. When he’s at his best, Smart is a defensive wrecking ball and can change the energy of a matchup in a flash.
At his worst, he’s shamelessly flopping, embarrassing the basketball gods and needs to be benched. In Sacramento, he balanced that dichotomy well and was a net positive for the team.
Grade: B+
Jake LaRavia
33 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-10 FG, 2-5 3PT, 3-3 FT, -5
Considering his limitations as a player, this was a near-perfect game from LaRavia. He was a solid defender, went perfect from the line and scored six consecutive points late in the fourth to help put the Kings away.
With so many players out, everyone who could play needed to bring their best, and LaRavia delivered.
Grade: A
Jarred Vanderbilt
27 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-5 FG, 3-4 FT, +15
Vando is back. He’s flying all over the place, forcing turnovers and scoring just enough to stay on the floor.
Will he ever have a three ball? Probably not. However, he’s so good at all the other things that he has to be in the game and he always makes a difference. Vando’s +15 was the second best on the Lakers behind just Austin’s +22. That is not a coincidence.
Grade: A
Dalton Knecht
13 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, –7
It was a good move by head coach JJ Redick to give Dalton some run in this game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great game for him. He missed his 3-point attempts, was rough on defense and couldn’t find a way to positively impact the game.
With all the injuries the Lakers are dealing with, he’ll probably still play here and there, but only to give the guards some rest.
Grade: D-
Chris Mañon
Only playing three minutes, Mañon will not get a grade tonight.
JJ Redick
Redick did a good job managing a limited roster.
He got Reaves a quick breather at the end of the third and the start of the fourth so he could finish strong. Redick gave Knecht and Mañon some run and his rotations made sense. Probably the only thing I don’t like right now is Vincent’s role, but not everyone will see things the same way.
Despite it all, the Lakers are starting the year 2-1 and Redick has gotten the record with injuries up and down the roster. He’s a good coach and tonight he showed some of the reasons why that is.
Grade: B
Tuesday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Christian Koloko, Nick Smith Jr.
Tuesday’s inactives: LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, Adou Thiero, Jaxson Hayes
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
