The Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to wrap up their first round matchup with the Houston Rockets. A huge part of that was Austin Reaves returning to form.
Similar to Game 5, Reaves came on slowly, hesitating and lacking the aggressiveness as a downhill scorer that earned him so much responsibility within JJ Redick's offense. Reaves ended the first half with seven points on 3-of-7 shooting, and while LA led by 18 going into the break, the version of AR fans were seeing was still concerning.
With a second round matchup with the defending NBA champions all but secure by the half, Reaves seemed to kick things into another gear that fans hope he keeps heading into the next round. That same hesitance wasn't there as AR was playing like he hadn't just been sidelined for nine games with an oblique injury.
He was aggressive from the point of attack and, at one point, even used his speed to blow by both Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard to score a contested layup. He finished with eight points in the third quarter and 15 points on the night.
After watching AR struggle immensely in his Game 5, shooting 4-of-16 from the field, the way he slowly progressed as Game 6 went on was a major positive heading into round two. With a charged-up Oklahoma City Thunder squad waiting, the Lakers are going to need AR at his absolute best.
Austin Reaves' revival is needed for a puncher's chance against the Thunder
When this series started, the Lakers were heavily shorthanded without both their dynamic guards, Luka Doncic and Reaves, but they found a way to win.
In Game 1, it was the Luke — or shall I say Luka — Kennard masterclass that led LA to the win. The Duke product dropped 27 points and went 5-of-5 from deep.
Game 2 was the Marcus Smart game, where the former Boston Celtics guard started off hot and never truly cooled off, finishing with 25 points, seven assists, and five steals. In Game 3, it was the LeBron James show, as the King recorded 29 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.
But these incredible games from the Lakers’ role players weren’t sustainable. LA dropping both Game 4 and Game 5 was proof of that of that.
Having Reaves enter the second half with a different energy and a special boost is a sign of optimism heading into Game 1 against the Thunder. The best way to describe the way Reaves progressed throughout the game is with a Fortnite analogy, as he came out of the half looking like the coaching staff had just given him a slurp juice in season 3.
If you don't get that reference, a slurp juice is a potion that slowly regenerates your health by 1 health point per second. For Reaves, that's exactly what the second half looked like. Every possession, he just seemed to be getting stronger and regaining more confidence.
Now that the Lakers are officially locked into a second-round series with the Thunder, having Reaves get healthier by the minute is crucial, especially with Doncic expected to remain out. Reaves now gets three days of rest before LA's round two series starts. With the way he progressed throughout the course of Friday's game, fans should be incredibly optimistic for Game 1 against OKC.
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