Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves ended the regular season on a definite hot streak. He averaged 24.9 points a game and shot 52.4% from the field and 42.4% from 3-point range in his last 17 games, which brought his season average up to 20.2 points per game.
But in the first two games of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Reaves hasn’t quite looked like himself. He scored 16 points apiece in both contests, and in Game 1, he made just five of his 13 shot attempts. While he shot 7-of-14 from the field in Game 2, he missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Los Angeles will need Reaves to be more productive offensively in order to win this series, which is tied at one game apiece, let alone make a truly deep run in the playoffs. He doesn’t sound too concerned about his inability to hit shots consistently right now.
Via Lakers Nation:
“I do not really just sit there and think about shots I am going to take,” Reaves said. “If I am open, I am going to shoot it and if not, I will try to make a play for a teammate. Unfortunately, I got four good looks to start the game. Well, three because one was not that good of a look, but shot it anyway. I just did not make it. If you start the game over, I miss the three looks, four looks again, I will probably shoot the bad one again too, so I trust the work I put in. Like I have said a million times, I just try to play the game the right way.”
Given Reaves’ work ethic and grit, one should expect his shots to start falling at some point, and perhaps he will have a big game later in this series. The Lakers may need some true explosions from him moving forward if they are to have a real shot at winning their 18th NBA championship.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Austin Reaves doesn’t sound concerned about his shooting woes
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves ended the regular season on a definite hot streak. He averaged 24.9 points a game and shot 52.4% from the field and 42.4% from 3-point range in his last 17 games, which brought his season average up to 20.2 points per game.
But in the first two games of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Reaves hasn’t quite looked like himself. He scored 16 points apiece in both contests, and in Game 1, he made just five of his 13 shot attempts. While he shot 7-of-14 from the field in Game 2, he missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Los Angeles will need Reaves to be more productive offensively in order to win this series, which is tied at one game apiece, let alone make a truly deep run in the playoffs. He doesn’t sound too concerned about his inability to hit shots consistently right now.
Via Lakers Nation:
“I do not really just sit there and think about shots I am going to take,” Reaves said. “If I am open, I am going to shoot it and if not, I will try to make a play for a teammate. Unfortunately, I got four good looks to start the game. Well, three because one was not that good of a look, but shot it anyway. I just did not make it. If you start the game over, I miss the three looks, four looks again, I will probably shoot the bad one again too, so I trust the work I put in. Like I have said a million times, I just try to play the game the right way.”
Given Reaves’ work ethic and grit, one should expect his shots to start falling at some point, and perhaps he will have a big game later in this series. The Lakers may need some true explosions from him moving forward if they are to have a real shot at winning their 18th NBA championship.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Austin Reaves doesn’t sound concerned about his shooting woes
