Lakers’ Austin Reaves shows out in epic fashion alongside LeBron James in preseason debut vs. Nets

The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Brooklyn Nets at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Monday. It's safe to say the Lakers' second warm-up contest lacked the intensity of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals (which multiple Lakers attended), but it ended up being a genuinely entertaining exhibition.

LeBron James and Austin Reaves made their preseason debut as the Lakers experimented with a host of lineups. They pushed the pace and racked up assists in the first half. In the fourth quarter, the rookie lineup — Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Colin Castleton, Alex Fudge, D'Moi Hodge — excitingly staved off a Nets charge, led by 10 points from Lewis, a Vegas native.

Here are a few Lakers observations from the game.

5. Injury update

Cam Reddish was out due to right ankle soreness stemming from his fall in the preseason opener on Saturday.

Vanderbilt (left heel soreness) was a surprise addition to the status report. Darvin Ham said the Lakers don't know when the forward aggravated his heel, but the issue has been “building” since last week. The Lakers are trying to “get ahead” of the injury “earlier than early.”

Ham expects both to be ready for the start of the season “as of right now.” They're listed as “day-to-day.”

4. Taurean Prince makes a case

Ham said the Lakers “definitely” know who will start at the 3, but he'd rather let the answer reveal itself over the course of preseason (just for kicks, I guess).

The absence of Vanderbilt — who played well von Saturday — compromised Ham's rotation, once again (LeBron was out Saturday). In a pregame plot twist, Ham started Prince over Rui Hachimura — perhaps signaling that the team is leaning toward bringing Rui off the bench.

The veteran wing took advantage. Prince bounced back from a 13-minute foul out to drop 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting (3-for-5 from 3) in 20 minutes. He attacked the cup. He drilled a contested corner 3 then drew a charge. (He did commit five fouls.)

“I think with TP you have someone that can fit with anybody,” said Reaves.

Rui, meanwhile, effortlessly cooked. In 20 minutes, he finished with 19 points (8-for-14 FG) and five rebounds.

The extent of Vanderbilt's injury — and it' role in who starts on Oct. 24 — should be sorted out in the coming days.

3. Lakers “let it fly”

The Lakers were 27th in 3s attempted per game in 2022-23: 31.0. That's untenable for a contender.

The Lakers have made the deep ball a point of emphasis this preseason. Against the Golden State Warriors, they shot 15-for-38 (39.5%). In Vegas, they took 55, including a 12-f0r-29 first half (the 12 would have been their second-most in a half last season). Nine different Lakers hit a 3.

“We just wanna be confident in our shots, and let it fly,” said Anthony Davis.

The Lakers want to use collapses on LeBron and AD to open up shooters. Ham is hoping his team can strike a “balance” between inside-out and outside-in.

“That's been one of our goals. We want to get our attempts up,” Ham said postgame. “We don't want to go crazy. We still want to be a team that loves and lives in the paint.”

2. Tables stay hot for AD, DLo

Russell eased into 15 points and five assists in one half vs. the Warriors. Monday was much of the same: 14 points and six assists while shooting 4-for-5 from 3. He's in an all-around groove.

“DLo's been great,” said Ham. ‘The more comfortable he gets, the more seamless our offense will be.”

“Just having that preseason, these game, training camp, all that was gonna benefit him in a lot of ways,” said his golfing buddy Reaves. “Being able to get comfortable with a group, because his skill's unmatched…I kindly remind him all the time that there's probably not anybody that can guard him.”

Davis dominated for the second game in a row. In 14 minutes, he scored 13 points on 4-for-6 from the field — including a few long jumpers — to go along with seven rebounds and thre blocks and led the Lakers with a +17.

1. LeBron and Austin are back

Reaves sat out in the Bay for ramp-up reasons, though his performance at Friday's practice indicated that he was ready to go, per Ham.

He sure looked it in Vegas. The Lakers' first points of the game came on a Reaves transition pull-up 3 after a Davis block — a sequence that got the bench and the Lakers-centric crowd on its feet early on.

Then, in the most fun sequence of the evening, Reaves and Cam Thomas combined to hit 3s on five straight possessions (far from Reaves' most impressive athletic feat in Vegas).

He finished with 18 points (5-for-7 FG, 4-for-6 from 3) in 20 minutes.

“I feel like I'm in really good shape right now,” he said.

LeBron spent 17 minutes feeling things out. He missed his signature fadeaway on his first touch, then drilled it later on. His jumper was a bit askew, but he made one smooth 3. He had solid burst, but was a bit clunky around the rim. He finished with 10 points, five assists, and three rebounds in 17 minutes. Like I've always said: overrated.

Lakers' remaining preseason schedule: