When LeBron James returned to the Lakers lineup from his sciatica on Nov. 18, some analysts expressed concern that Austin Reaves would struggle to continue his career-best year playing alongside James and Luka Doncic.
Some of those concerns could be coming true.
In his last two games — including Wednesday’s NBA Cup loss to the Spurs — Reaves has averaged a meagre 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 28% shooting. In eight games alongside James this season, he has averaged 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Those numbers look good on paper, but there’s been a steady dip in his touches, best evidenced by his assist numbers dropping from 8.2 to 4.4 with James in the lineup.
In 13 games without James, Reaves has averaged 29.2 points, 8.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds on 49% shooting. If the last two games are any indication, it will be hard for him to sustain such gaudy numbers, with his playmaking being most affected.
Another striking stat is that Reaves’ USG% has plummeted to 21.4 over the last two games, a steep decline from 27.5% overall for the season. The undrafted guard started the season with a USG% of 29.9 in October, but has seen those numbers dip steadily.
LeBron James to Blame?
During Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the Spurs, Reaves finished with 15 points (6-of-16 FG), eight rebounds, seven assists, and four turnovers — numbers that pale in comparison to his performances in the early part of the season.
Lake Show Life’s Tyler Watts put the blame squarely on James, arguing that the veteran forward is making it “impossible” for Reaves to succeed. Watts believes that James, who has become more of a jump shooter in his 23rd season, is not helping Reaves’ case by not putting pressure on defenses with his patented dribble penetration.
“AR is used to LeBron getting into the paint and kicking out to him. The shift has made the ball a bit stickier and has Reaves searching for his offense,” wrote Watts.
“In the last three games with their star trio, Reaves has shot just 15 of 44, or 34.1 percent, from the field and averaged 14.0 points per game.”
Defensive Liability
LeBron James‘ return has inflicted another issue for the Lakers, with their defense going from serviceable to disastrous.
In a 40-year-old James, Reaves and Doncic, the Lakers have three subpar defenders in the starting unit — a recipe for disaster against teams with dribble-penetrating guards. The Lakers found that out Wednesday when the Spurs’ trio of Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper got to the rim at will, facing very little resistance.
Before James made his season debut, Lakers head coach JJ Redick put Marcus Smart in the starting unit, a move that worked wonders for his defensively-challenged team. With Smart in the lineup, the Lakers are conceding 107.8 points per 100 possessions — nearly nine points fewer than James, Reaves and Doncic together.
James has been so terrible on defense that the Lakers are conceding 121.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. Once an All-Defense star, James, who turns 41 in a few weeks, is unable to stay in front of quality scorers in his 23rd season.
“Before Wednesday’s game, LeBron and Reaves had a negative-1.1 net rating when sharing the floor. Both players want to get going with Luka on the bench, but they are struggling to find the balance,” added Watts.
The Lakers have very little shot of competing with the OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets without the best version of Austin Reaves.
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