LOS ANGELES — With the Lakers’ roster being short-handed and depleted in their last two games, a road win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday and a home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, there’s been a natural search for silver linings.
The obvious one is the continued emergence of Austin Reaves, who has again stepped up during the absences of key players, including Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Reaves scored a career-high 51 points to go with 11 rebounds, nine assists and two steals against the Kings before recording 41 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals against the Trail Blazers.
Another silver lining – tying into Reaves being relied by the Lakers as a ball-handler even more than he usually would – has been the chemistry between the fifth-year guard and starting center Deandre Ayton being fast-tracked over the last couple of games.
“He’s been awesome,” Reaves said of Ayton. “He’s been very receptive to listening to not only what I have to say, Luka, Bron, the front office, coaches, he’s been very locked into everything that we’ve told him. And then take everything that we told him, but on the back end of that, we give him a voice. We ask him what he wants, what he likes and try to make that work together. Four games in, I feel like he’s continued to build on that, and it’s been very, very good.”
The Lakers being without multiple ball-handlers, including Gabe Vincent and Marcus Smart against the Trail Blazers, has led to more two-man actions (mainly pick and rolls) between Reaves and Ayton.
And the process has helped them better figure out each other’s games in a way they weren’t able to as much during the preseason.
After passing to Ayton 11 times in the Lakers’ first two games in the 57 combined minutes they were on the court together, including assisting him on a pair of buckets, Reaves passed to Ayton 24 times in the following pair of games in their 60 combined minutes on court against the Kings and Trail Blazers, including Reaves assisting Ayton on eight baskets.
Six of those eight assists from Reaves to Ayton in the previous two games came after Ayton set a ball screen for Reaves, compared to zero in the first two games.
“Austin is a smart dude,” Ayton said. “A few conversations and a couple of practices and live play, he already knew [the] type of style I like, coming out of the pick and roll. And we started to learn what the defense give us as well. Sometimes the pocket’s not always there. And I’m [gonna] have to finish these rolls, and he’s gonna have to get the ball and spray it out to these corners to get the ball moving.”
INJURY UPDATES
The Lakers listed Smart (right quadriceps contusion) and Jaxson Hayes (left patellar tendinopathy) as questionable for Wednesday’s road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after sitting out Monday’s game.
Hayes has been sidelined for three games, with his injury designation being updated on Monday after previously being diagnosed with “left knee soreness.”
Smart was sidelined for the game against the Blazers, the second night of a back-to-back set, after a team trainer was seen checking out his right leg during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Kings.
Doncic (sprained left finger; lower left leg contusion), James (right sciatica), Vincent (left ankle sprain), Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain) and Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery) remain sidelined entering the Lakers’ two-game trip, which includes a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
The Timberwolves will be without All-Star guard Anthony Edwards, who is sidelined because of a strained right hamstring.
LAKERS AT TIMBERWOLVES
When: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. PT
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
TV/Radio: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM