3 Lakers who simply have to play better (not named Russell Westbrook)
By Jason Reed
3. Austin Reaves
I never understood the hype that was around Austin Reaves last season. Sure, it was a cool story that the Lakers got an NBA rotation player out of an undrafted free agent and fans instantly flocked to him because of his cool nickname and his “similarities” to Alex Caruso (in that he doesn’t look like an NBA player, let alone an athlete).
Reaves had some promising moments, sure, but his overall performance last season was nothing to write home about. He was part of a bad supporting cast in Los Angeles and it is fair to question if he would have even been in the rotation on 25 of the 29 other NBA teams.
The 24-year-old is not off to a great start this season. In 19 minutes per game, Reaves is averaging just 4.7 points, 1.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game. What is particularly concerning is his shooting, as Reaves is making his shots at a 40% clip. He is shooting 28.6% from beyond the arc.
Reaves definitely hustles on the defensive end, which is why the fanbase has flocked to him as a fan favorite. However, the numbers under the hood are not spectacular, as he is considered a below-average defender with his negative Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
The only other Lakers with at least 40 minutes played and a worse Box Plus/Minus than Reaves is Nunn and Juan Toscano-Anderson. You could make the case for JTA to be on this list over Reaves but he has made more of a defensive impact, and thus escapes the criticism (for now).