The Lakers have placed a wager as massive as LeBron James’ shoulders, and they have placed that wager on a former undrafted guard.
In the absence of a blockbuster trade for a third superstar who could play alongside James and Anthony Davis, they have placed their team in the hands of Austin Reaves.
The Lakers’ Austin Reaves leaps in the air and passes the ball during a game against the Cavaliers at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Dealing D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets wasn’t just about clearing payroll. The trade was also designed to clear time and space for the 26-year-old Reaves.
To be on the ball more.
To create more.
This alone won’t transform the Lakers into overnight contenders, but they might as well figure out what they have in Reaves before deciding whether to trade the future first-round draft picks they have held onto so far.
Is Reaves just a solid player with an affordable contract? Or can he be more than that, perhaps even an All-Star?
The Lakers aren’t Reaves’ team, but this is Reaves’ moment.
For now, they will have to live and die by him, just as they do with James and Davis, just as they did on Tuesday night in a 122-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Reaves was everything from reckless to breathtaking against the team with the best record in the NBA, committing three turnovers in the first six minutes but finishing with 35 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
His point total equaled his career high.
Coach JJ Redick said he spoke to Reaves about “the patience to just make simple plays.”
Then again, Redick added, “There’s a nature to his game that you have to be willing to live with some of his stuff because of the way he attacks and the change of pace and the quick decisions and the quick bursts. There’s gonna be some of that and you have to live with that. It’s sort of the unforced stuff [where he] will grow.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick looks across the court during a game against the Cavaliers at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Redick’s faith in Reaves is what pushed Russell to the bench earlier this season. Reaves’ play in the previous two games solidified the Lakers’ resolve to include Russell in a package for which they received Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton in return.
Reaves recorded a triple-double and scored the winning basket in a Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors. He registered a career-high 16 assists in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter against the Cavaliers.
“Just like I always say, play the game the right way and just do what the game calls for,” Reaves said. “If it’s scoring, score. If it’s not, make plays. But at the end of the day, just get us organized, get us into stuff that we need to get in.”
Reaves might have downplayed his expanded role, but there’s nothing minor about this. As he became a fixture in the Lakers’ rotation, many have wondered whether a team can win a championship with him as its third-best player. The remainder of this season should produce a definitive answer.
Whatever the Lakers learn about Reaves, the reality is they still aren’t close to contending, even after landing a capable defender and three-point shooter in Finney-Smith. The loss to the Cavaliers was evidence of that.
The Lakers had virtually no offense outside of Reaves, Davis and James. Rui Hachimura was particularly ineffective, scoring only seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. The bench was also unproductive, combining for just 12 points, compared to 32 scored by their opponent‘s reserves.
They made half as many three-pointers as the Cavaliers.
James didn’t speak after the game, but he didn’t have to. His words from the previous day sufficed.
Laker LeBron James tries to get a shot off while surrounded by Cavaliers at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Addressing reporters at the Lakers’ practice facility on the eve of New Year’s Eve, James said he was encouraged by the additions of Finney-Smith and Milton.
He also introduced a measure of reality into the conversation.
“Are we at a championship level?” James asked. “Can we win a championship right now?”
He answered his own question: “No, I don’t think so.”
Reaves won’t alter that reality, regardless of how he plays. But his performance will instruct general manager Rob Pelinka on what he has to do next, on whether the next wave of reinforcements should be players who enhance what Reaves does or move him back into a peripheral role.