One of the biggest reasons the Los Angeles Lakers are playing their best basketball of the season is because of the emergence of Austin Reaves. The second-year guard has become one of the Lakers’ most reliable players providing scoring, playmaking and overall high IQ play on both ends of the court.
The Lakers have now won three straight games and six of their last seven after routing the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, and once again, it was a complete team effort leading to the victory. The team totaled 36 assists on the night with reserve Rui Hachimura providing a big boost in addition to Anthony Davis and LeBron James leading the way.
Reaves had another excellent night as well, finishing with 18 points and eight assists while attempting just seven shots. Afterward Reaves spoke on the overall state of the team, believing that the team is in a great space mentally and are really gelling together, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Mentally we’re at a great space. Obviously we wish we were No. 1, best team in the league record-wise, but since the trade deadline, I feel like we’ve played really, really good basketball. We’ve gelled really well together and like [Anthony Davis] said, we can get greedy and, might as well win out. We play every game to win, so that’s the mindset, take it one game at a time. But like I said, every game we’re going in with really good confidence, really good energy and feel that we can win the game.”
The Lakers now find themselves with a very real chance to get out of the Play-In Tournament and lock in a sixth or even fifth seed in the West. As far as Reaves is concerned, the mindset of the team shouldn’t change and that should lead them to the postseason:
“Like I said, every game from here on out is major. We’re going in to every game thinking must-win and that we have a very good opportunity to win. And then that will put us in whatever position, Play-In Game, sixth seed, whatever we get if we have a good energy and feel to go into the postseason, it don’t really matter as long as we get in the postseason and are playing basketball.”
The way the Lakers are playing they are looking like one of the most dangerous teams in basketball and a squad that the Western Conference’s higher seeds likely want to avoid when the postseason begins.
Anthony Davis named Western Conference Player of the Week
Another reason the Lakers have been hot lately is because Anthony Davis has been an absolutely dominant force. So great in fact that Davis was named Western Conference Player of the Week for March 27 – April 2.
The choice was a pretty easy one as Davis averaged 38.7 points on 65.2% shooting, 11.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. The Lakers went 3-0 during the week with all three victories coming on the road.
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