Malik Monk has been one of the Los Angeles Lakers this season. The former Charlotte Hornets lottery selection is having a breakout year in LA, averaging nearly 13 points per game off the bench. Monk brings a fresh energy to the bench that the team has sorely lacked all season.

In an interview with ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Malik Monk detailed his relationship with another standout Lakers guard: rookie Austin Reaves. He shared that the two has had a close bond together, as Monk seems to have taken the young Reaves under his wing.

“S—, everything. Ups and downs. Rookie wall. Older guys yelling at the rookies because it's their fault. Everything they do, it's your fault out there because they know everything and you don't and when you mess up, you just got to take it. You got to deal with things like that. I talk to Austin almost every day.”

Reaves echoed the same sentiment, saying that the two Lakers guards may have gotten along well together. Perhaps it's because both of them hailed from the same state and were high school rivals at one point.

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“I feel like we have a chemistry,” Reaves says. “… Even from the start, it's been just a kind of connection that you can't really explain.”

“Two motherf—ers from Arkansas, man,” Monk says.

Reaves has quietly become one of the Lakers' better guards, providing a nice spark off of the bench. There are still a lot of things to be concerned about (mainly his defense), but it's nothing that can't be worked on.

The Lakers are currently looking to crack the post-season. At this rate, though, they'll need every bit of production from everyone to maintain their spot in the play-in tournament.