1. Austin Reaves
Austin Reaves‘ individual advanced numbers may not be all that impressive but one thing is for certain: the Los Angeles Lakers are at their best when he is on the court. Whether Reaves has a direct correlation to that or not is unclear but Vogel should be seeing these numbers and getting Reaves on the court more.
Reaves has the best on/off splits of any player on the Lakers this season. The Lakers’ net rating is 11.9 points higher when Reaves is on the court versus when he is off the court. LA is in the positive (+7.1) with Reaves and is down in the negative (-4.8) when he is sitting on the bench.
Reaves has an identical impact on both the offense and defense as well. The Lakers’ offensive rating is 5.8 points higher when he is on the court while the defensive rating is 6.1 points better. LA is better on both sides with Reaves. There is no way around it.
Reaves is averaging a hearty 21.3 minutes per game this season and has been playing more as of late. He might not be the most polished player on the team but he plays that hustle brand of basketball that the team needs out of a role player. There is a reason why the fanbase is so excited to watch him, after all.