Stud on the Los Angeles Lakers: Austin Reaves
Shooting guard Austin Reaves, otherwise known as “Hillbilly Kobe”, continued to prove himself during the preseason in Tuesday night’s loss. The Lakers signed Reaves to a two-way contract in July after he went undrafted, and he’s already proven that he deserves a spot on the roster. We all know that Los Angeles is successful at developing talent and it’s looking like that’s already the same case with Austin.
The 23-year-old from the University of Oklahoma played 27 minutes and finished with 10 points, one rebound and two assists. Reaves went 3-for-6 from the field and 2-for-4 from the three-point line. On defense, he posted two steals and one block. His minutes were valuable for the Lakers and the trend seems to be that he’s going to continue to improve as he gains more experience.
Los Angeles was without Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn due to injuries in its fifth-consecutive preseason loss. With a number of players currently out, both short and long-term, Reaves is likely to see the court far more than originally expected. The Lakers have struggled on the defensive end so far during the preseason, so Austin can be a much-needed spark for the purple and gold in that aspect, too.
Reaves has big shoes to feel since his nickname is based on Los Angeles legend Kobe Bryant, but it doesn’t seem like he’s too worried about the pressure from that. He’s an undrafted rookie that isn’t playing like one.