Fifth-year guard Austin Reaves did not mince words Thursday after the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their third consecutive defeat and fifth loss in seven games, despite facing a Phoenix Suns team missing its two best players.
“Very high,” Reaves responded when asked about the Lakers’ frustration level.
Reaves is justified in hitting the panic button.
During their 2-5 stretch in the last seven games, the Lakers have been outrebounded (42.6 to 37.4) and outscored (116.4 to 110.7) by considerable margins, and their defense has completely fallen apart. Concerningly, their offense, which held steady earlier in the season, has taken a major hit, with the Lakers ranking No. 18 in offensive efficiency (112.3), 23rd in points (110.7) and 22nd in assists (25.1) during the seven-game run.
Austin Reaves Lean Patch
Reaves — who was top-10 in scoring before a calf injury sidelined him for 19 games — has seen his individual numbers plummet since his return on Feb. 3. In nine games since his return, Reaves is averaging 19.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 3PM — a massive drop from his pre-injury numbers of 26.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.7 3PM.
Some analysts have blamed the basketball fit of Reaves, Doncic and James together, not just because all three are subpar defensive players, but due to a lack of offensive cohesion among the trio. To that end, the Lakers have an offensive rating of 107.7 when the three stars are on the floor together, which would rank 30th in the league. To address the prevailing issue, some have suggested that either James or Reaves come off the bench, allowing one of the two to thrive with the second unit.
Should Lakers Bench AR?
One Western Conference assistant coach told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that Reaves may have to be the fall guy and come off the bench because Lakers head coach JJ Redick couldn’t possibly ask an all-time great like James to make such a sacrifice.
“Maybe it will click for them, but it is hard to see how it happens,” the coach said of the Lakers shaking up their starting unit. “There’s so much pressure on their role players to do all the things that the three stars can’t do. Those two players have to make up for the defense the stars don’t play or the rebounding they don’t do.
“If you’re Marcus Smart or Deandre Ayton or whoever else they start, you’re trying to fill the roles that the Lakers should be asking three or four players to fill. It’s a tough situation for JJ and I wonder if he can make that call.”
Redick has used 23 different starting combinations through 58 games thus far. While some of the changes have been forced by injuries, the second-year head coach has inserted and reinserted the likes of Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura and Jake LaRavia into the starting five for defensive purposes, but with very little success.
The Lakers (34-24) will try to snap their three-game losing streak against a Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors (31-28) on Saturday night. The Warriors have been playing good basketball of late and could pose problems for Reaves and Co.
Austin Reaves Sends 2-Word Message on Lakers Amid Losing Streak