Thought Starter...
A high wire act for the Lakers.
The Lakers have put a tremendous amount of faith in Austin Reaves.
Not only have they asked him to take over the primary ballhandling/point guarding duties on a scale he hasn’t had to over the course of his career, they’ve also traded away the primary safety net (D’Angelo Russell). So it’s Reaves or bust, not just big picture, but damn near every night. Some nights—Wednesday vs. Miami for example—the results are great. At other times, not so much.
It’s easy to forget with a player who seems like he’s been around a little while now that things can still be new, and require a learning curve. JJ Redick made that clear Thursday in El Segundo, speaking to the media after practice. When Reaves remembers the assignment with his new gig, he tends to thrive. When he strays, not only does his play go down, it can drag LA’s offense down with it.
And the assignment is a hard one, not just because the NBA isn’t exactly an easy league to learn on the job, but also because Reaves has to this point is his career tended to thrive as a chaos agent. He’s often at his best when play is at its most scrambled, and things seem disorganized. But to this point, Reaves has taken advantage of those situations from a spot other than the primary steward of the offense. When he’s in charge, it requires a more holistic approach that isn’t always easy to manage.
The Lakers’ season, though, is largely dependent on how fast he figures things out, because there’s really no Plan B.
—BK
Also In This Episode...
-LeBron and Anthony Davis both had to evacuate their homes because of the Palisades fire.
-JJ Redick says he wants to try more big lineups, meaning two centers. It’s one reason the team signed Trey Jemison, because they can’t deploy Christian Koloko as much as they otherwise might, because of the rules around two-way players. But is Jemison enough to make a dent, or do the Lakers need a better second big to really give these lineups a try?
-D’Angelo Russell returns!!!
