The Los Angeles Lakers grabbed a much-needed win against a team with a record over .600 following their 110-97 win against the New York Knicks on Sunday. The Lakers’ win coincided with a breakout game from Austin Reaves, who hadn’t quite been playing up to his standards in recent weeks. After the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick explained the messaging to Reaves which helped lead to his strong game, as per Melissa Rohlin of The California Post.
“I think the messaging to him has just been to be himself,” Redick said. “And I think sometimes, when you miss time and there’s circumstances going on with the team that you can kind of be a little passive. . .We want him to be aggressive. Every time he gets the ball, we want him to be aggressive and have a mentality to touch the paint.”
Austin Reaves’ breakout game during the Lakers’ wing against the Knicks came to the tune of 25 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals and one blocked shot. He shot 8-of-16 (50 percent) from the field, 3-of-6 (50 percent) from the 3-point line and 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from the free-throw line in 39 minutes.
Earlier this season, Reaves was playing All-Star caliber basketball. Within a week’s span, he dropped a career-high 51 points, 41 points, and a game-winning shot in consecutive games. But Reaves suffered a calf injury in December that ended up sidelining him for 22 games total, effectively ending his All-Star bid.
Since returning to the Lakers’ lineup, Reaves has been solid, and a consistent double digit scorer. His shot has been falling as much, but it’s not like there’s a gigantic drop in his overall production.
Reaves has appeared in 38 games this season at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging a career-high 23.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 49.5 percent shooting from the field, 37.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 87.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
