So, Austin Reaves is pretty good at this whole basketball thing, right? Lighting up one of the best defenses in the NBA on Sunday night delivered a healthy reminder of just how unguardable the Los Angeles Lakers star can be.
Reaves was making all kinds of difficult, and even flat-out ridiculous, shots against the Detroit Pistons. No Luka Doncic? No problem. The other star in the Lakers backcourt was more than equipped to give the Pistons a whooping during Los Angeles' 121-116 road win in Detroit.
Something I have been on the record with is calling Reaves one of the best difficult shot-makers in the NBA. The Lakers guard is great at getting to his spots and creating separation, but even when the look is far from ideal, Austin is still elite at putting the bucket in the basket. The 43 points on Sunday showcased that much.
Granted, JJ Redick deserves credit too. The Lakers coach found ways all night to give his guy favorable matchups on switches and otherwise. All the same, Reaves' performance was a statement against those who have made a hoopla over a can of nothing when overstating his early-season turnover problems, or anything of that sort, as this big indictment of a struggling co-star.
Austin Reaves' supposed struggles were being amplified beyond the actual reality
3.6 turnovers is not a great number, sure. However, using that figure as some type of big critique of Reaves when the season is this young was silly. The numbers can and should stabilize over the coarse of a long campaign.
Other critics were dissatisfied with Reaves' scoring output. Before the Pistons matchup, the 28-year-old was only averaging 23.5 points per game. That would have only been a hair above what the star guard posted last season when he split time between being a second and third option.
Both of those things were wild overreactions to a 10-game sample size.
What was also being ignored in those conversations included the aspects of his game that were right where they needed to be. Mainly, the scoring efficiency was phenomenal. Reaves continued to show just how adaptable he was. His feel for picking his spots and operating within the offense rarely wavered in its quality. This was all being clouded by an underwhelming stat or two.
Sunday's showcase was more akin to the player Reaves has shown himself to be over the last few years. When the Lakers have asked him to scale up in recent seasons, the production has typically been there. That was the case against Detroit.
Perhaps there will be bumps along the road, and maybe Reaves does eventually invite actual concerns over his play. Until then, it would be wise to remember the sky is not falling when overstating any struggles this early. Everyone is just finding their footing. Austin is still standing on solid ground, as he has always been.
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