Coming off a disappointing loss on Christmas Day, the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back with a strong victory over the Charlotte Hornets. A major reason for the blowout win was the bench unit dominating led by Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell.
Four reserves scored in double-figures, led by 16 points apiece from Reaves and Russell. As a whole, the bench scored 63 points and that was with normal reserve Rui Hachimura moving to the starting lineup as Cam Reddish was out due to injury.
The contest really showed the Lakers depth and what the team is capable of, but to Reaves, the depth and versatility of this team may have hurt them in trying to really figure out their identity.
“I think, for the most part, it’s figuring out really what we want our identity to be,” Reaves said when asked what the Lakers need to do to be as good as they can be. “At this point we would like to 100% know, but it’s hard because we have not had a full roster, guys have been in and out. But to really figure out what we want to do as a team.
“I feel like we can be so versatile that sometimes it might hurt us a little bit because if we stick to one thing and just get really, really good at that one thing and then expand from that, I think we’ll become a huge problem. Like I said the other night, I believe that every time we step on the court, we can beat anybody we play. But just figuring out really what our identity is, in my opinion, the main thing, because we can be so good when we figure that out.”
The Lakers have talked about wanting the defensive end being their calling card, and that should especially be the case with the starters. But the bench unit led by Reaves and Russell has some serious offensive firepower and it was their stretch late in the third quarter that allowed for LeBron and Davis to get some much needed rest in the fourth.
“Anytime we can get Bron and AD a rest, they do so much for our team every night, is good,” Reaves added. “I thought with those five on the court, we were playing good basketball, making the right plays, the defense was competing.
“C-Wood, I don’t know how many rebounds he had, but he had a lot of possessions where he was fighting in the post on shots and getting his hand on rebounds. I don’t know if they give them to him but those are big plays for us where he might not get the rebound but someone else does and we just played good as a unit and gave those guys some time to relax.”
Christian Wood, who hasn’t been in the rotation as of late, came up huge in 23 minutes and served as another example of the Lakers’ depth and what this team can bring to the table on any given night.
Austin Reaves believes Lakers can beat any team in the NBA
Even as the Lakers have had their struggles throughout the season, one thing that hasn’t changed is the belief in this team and Reaves feels they can beat any team on any given night.
“Obviously us as a group, me personally, I think we can beat any team that steps on the floor,” Reaves noted. “If you don’t have that outlook then what are we doing? But we have that outlook, we just got to tighten some things up and kind of just get that foundation planted and run with that.
“But anytime we step on the floor, we feel confident with what we got and the talent and the opportunity to win games.”
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