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Despite having up to seven players out for games during the first week of NBA action, the Lakers have found ways to win games. It’s taken a true team effort for the Lakers to be 3-2 with no LeBron James. Luka Dončić took charge on opening night, scoring 49 points, but it still resulted in a loss for the Lakers.
After that game, however, it’s been the Austin Reave show.
Reaves put on a blockbuster performance, scoring 51 points against the Kings, helping LA beat Sacramento despite Luka being out.
With Reaves having a career-high and Luka proving he can be the leader of the Lakers sans LeBron, we asked fans in our SB Nation Reacts poll which opening week performances were better.
The results are in, and 69% of fans picked Reaves’ 51-point game over Luka’s 49 in the season opener.
Considering that Reaves scored more and did it in a win, it’s no surprise fans enjoyed it more than Luka’s monster game. Also, given that Reaves is considered the lesser player compared to Luka, it was a surprise that he went off the way he did.
Since that 51-point game, Reaves has continued to be great for the Lakers. He had a game-winner against the Wolves and tied his career high in assists with 16 in that win.
This has been an unbelievable start for Reaves and he is quickly becoming a household name. If he keeps this up, perhaps an All-Star selection could be on the table for Reaves. And if he’s playing that well, the Lakers’ ceiling for this year will undoubtedly rise.
With the Lakers winning more than they’ve lost, even with their two best players out for the vast majority of games, it’s safe to say LA is off to a good start considering their situation.
So, we asked in the SB Nation Reacts Poll if their opinions on the team have changed after the opening week. So far, 57% of fans are more encouraged after seven days of NBA action.
It makes sense that Lakers fans are higher on the team after watching them win games, even with key players out.
This team will only get better once Luka and LeBron return. If they continue winning games in the meantime, they could quickly become frontrunners in the West once fully healthy.
According to the poll, 32% of fans have remained unchanged from their initial thoughts on the team. With Lakers fans thinking the team will have a 50-plus win season, them remaining the same after a week is not neccesarily a negative.
So far, the good from the Lakers has far outweighed the bad, which is why only 11% are less encouraged after seeing these early games.
Hopefully, the Lakers can continue to stack wins and when players return, they can hit the ground running and discover just how good they can be.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
